Fingerpainting
by Angelikah
Summary: Klaus Mikaelson: Spilling art supplies on childhood best friends since 1995. Klaroline. AU/AH.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Turning this into a full-length semi-plotted fic by popular demand... Similarly to Extra Credit, it will be unbeta'd, have reasonably short chapters, and updated on a semi-random basis. This is a prologue. The next chapter will pick up on their first day of high school.  
Part of this chapter is the drabble that inspired this ("Best Friends"), with a few changes made. In order, Klaroline are four, seven, nine, and thirteen.  
For Cassie, Gail, and Bex. Thank you to Giulia for part of the cover. You deserve all the spare rainbows.  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

"Hey, Liz," Esther said tiredly on the other end of the line.

"Everything okay?" Liz asked immediately, swapping her phone from one ear to the other as she bent down to pick up a Barbie shoe and throw it back in one of the plastic buckets they used for toys (those things were _painful _when stepped on).

"Yes, mostly. I was just wondering if you'd be willing to take Niklaus for the afternoon? I know it's short notice, but-"

"Of course. I'd be happy to. I'm sure that Caroline will be thrilled."

Esther laughed. "Both of them, more likely. I'm so glad that they get along. I'll come by in around an hour? Don't worry, I'll get him lunch before we come."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon."

Liz sighed, hanging up the phone and turning to Caroline, who was peacefully stacking wooden blocks. "Caroline, Nik's coming over later."

Caroline looked up, her face immediately brightening. "Really?"

"Yes. Why don't you go get dressed and brush your hair."

"Okay," her daughter said, shooting up on her feet and speeding down the hall almost before the end of Liz's sentence was out of her mouth.

Liz allowed herself to smile slightly at her daughter's eagerness to see her friend and sat down on the couch with her laptop.

She heard the pitter-patter of Caroline's light footsteps as she came back into the living room, sitting down where she'd been before, concentrating on her work until she heard the beep of a phone.

"Caroline, put that down!" Liz ordered from the other side of the living room.

Caroline pouted but obligingly dropped the phone and sat down. "When are they coming?"

"Twenty minutes."

"No," Caroline said, grabbing a few blocks from the basket in the corner and starting to stack them.

Liz sighed. Caroline was obnoxious, precocious, and energetic, which was, in her humble opinion, one of the worst combinations of traits for four-year-olds. She had a short attention span and was very rigid about things that she wanted, and was always running around doing something.

She couldn't wait for Esther to arrive with her son Niklaus (though the kids all called him Nik because of the collective problem they seemed to have of pronouncing 'Klaus') so that Caroline would calm down a bit. He was easy-going and quiet, a direct contrast to Caroline's excitable nature, but while Caroline threw tantrums every now and then that were more for show than anything, Klaus's tantrums were worse, though he didn't have them often.

The doorbell rang and Caroline clambered to her feet, looking at her mother expectantly and following her to the door. "Esther, it's good to see you."

"Hi, Liz," Esther said tiredly, moving aside so Klaus could walk into the house,

"How are you?"

"It's been one of those weeks, but I'm all right," Esther said, rubbing her very pregnant belly lightly. "This one wants out, and frankly I agree. It's a good thing that Elijah and Finn aren't a huge handful or I wouldn't know what to do. I only have to run around for Klaus and Kol."

"Can I get you anything?"

Esther smiled. "No, thank you. I should go. I can't leave Mikael with Kol by himself for more than half an hour before he's hiding in his office."

"Would you like me to drop off Nik so you don't have to drive over?"

"Yes, that would great actually. Is four all right? That way I can already have picked up Elijah and Finn."

"I can do that."

Esther gave her a grateful look. "Thank you."

"Of course! I'll see you then."

Liz walked Esther out and then turned to go back to the living room to finish the report she was filing and keep an eye on Klaus and Caroline.

"But it would look so much prettier if each floor was a different color," Caroline was saying as she carefully positioned a red block on the tower.

Klaus just shrugged and obligingly put down the blue block he'd been about to place on the tower and picking up a red one.

They continued that way for awhile until they were out of blocks and had built a rather unstable but tall block tower.

"Mommy we're done. Come see."

"It's really great, guys!" Liz said tiredly, taking one look at it before turning back to her work.

"Can we do play-doh?" Caroline asked.

"Why don't you let Nik have a turn picking."

"But Nik likes play-doh."

"Well, that doesn't mean that he wants to play it right now. Nik, do you want to pick something to do?" Liz said kindly, determined to help Caroline learn the concept of taking turns.

"Play-doh," he said quietly, edging slightly towards the small table on the side of the room, which was usually where they played.

"See?" Caroline asked irritably in an I-told-you-so tone.

"Yes, Caroline, I see," Liz said dryly, wondering if Klaus was just doing what Caroline wanted to do, but deciding not to pursue the subject.

She set them up with the different colors on the table in the corner and then returned to work, listening with half an ear to the conversation.

"What are you making?" Klaus asked, his hands already separating the play-doh into neat circles.

"A puppy. What are you making?"

"I don't know yet."

They worked in silence for a few minutes before Caroline made a frustrated sound. "I can't make the legs work."

Klaus glanced at her play-doh creation and smiled slightly before grabbing it.

"Hey!"

"Wait. I'll fix it," he said, pulling the tiny sticks Caroline had made into legs off the 'dog' and squishing them into smaller pillars, reattaching them carefully and handing it back. "Now it stands up."

"Thanks," Caroline said happily, setting it on the table and looking at it for a few seconds before balling it back up to make something else.

Klaus just rolled his eyes at her Caroline-ish behavior (he was used to it by now) and continued on whatever he was doing.

Caroline had made a flower, a cloud, and a butterfly by the time Klaus had finished his elephant (and Liz was rather impressed by how much it resembled one, taking in Klaus's age), and then Liz had them clean up, which Caroline did while Klaus sat there and watched. "Nik, do you want to help Caroline clean up?"

"It's okay, Mommy. Nik did mostly the blocks."

"Nik cleaned up almost all the blocks," Liz corrected automatically, before realizing that Caroline was packing in the last jar of play-doh and Klaus was just sitting there, smiling slightly.

"Can we paint?" Klaus asked quietly after Caroline had pounded the cap on the jar with her palm.

Liz checked the clock and was saw that they had about two and a half hours left.

"Yes. I'll get everything out."

Five minutes later, the two of them were set up with heavy paper and child-safe paint, which Klaus immediately stuck his hand in and started brushing across his paper. Caroline wrinkled her nose at the paint and Liz put a box of crayons in front of her daughter, who immediately began coloring.

"All done," Caroline said about fifteen minutes later, holding up her picture.

It had two stick figures, one with blonde hair and a pink body and the other with tan hair and a green body. "This is you," she said unnecessarily pointing to Klaus.

He smiled and returned to his finger painting, which was mostly just streaks of paint on a paper rather than any actual shape.

Caroline grabbed another paper and started drawing again, and a few minutes later she proudly showed Liz a picture of a person under a rainbow, her messy childlike handwriting spelling out the title and her name with a happy face underneath. Klaus pushed away the paper he'd been painting on a few seconds later and was about to get up from the table by the time Liz realized that he was done (and covered in paint).

"Wait, Nik. Let's get you cleaned up."

He shrugged and started walking past Caroline with a mischievous smirk on his face, and pressed his paint-covered hand against her dress.

"Hey! You got paint on my dress."

Klaus just gave her an innocent smile and started backing up towards the bathroom.

"No. You can't ruin my dress. Meanie."

"I did though."

Caroline's eyes filled with tears. "I like this dress. It's pretty and you ruined it."

"It's okay, honey. It'll wash out," Liz said quickly, trying to nip the coming tantrum in the bud.

"Nik was mean," Caroline hiccuped, and Liz turned to ask Klaus to apologize when he beat her to it.

"Sorry," he muttered quietly before bolting towards the bathroom.

"Whatever." Caroline mumbled.

"Can you put the crayons away, Caroline?"

She pouted but walked over to do as she was told while Liz made sure that Klaus didn't have anymore wet paint all over him.

"Can we watch something?" he asked when they returned to the living room.

"Sure. What do you want to watch?" Liz asked, heading towards the television.

"Aladdin," Caroline said decisively at the same time as Klaus voted for The Lion King.

"Well, you'll have to decide."

"Aladdin is fine," Klaus said, and Liz sighed exasperatedly at his immediate agreement with her daughter.

It was always interesting to watch the two interact because they often disagreed on things, but seemed to immediately realize that they disagreed and one of them would cave, though it was Caroline who more often than not got her way.

She had brought Caroline over to the Mikaelson's to play before, and Klaus would argue until the cows came home with his siblings about things he wanted to do, not backing down for a second, but when Caroline wanted something, usually she got it.

She hadn't known it was possible for a child to be spoiled by another child until Caroline and Klaus became friends. Honestly, she often wondered if they'd grow up to be one of those rare best friend pairs that ended up dating and getting married, but she'd shake herself and remember that the odds weren't in their favor. It was nice to think about though, especially since Esther was one of her best friends.

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Nik," Caroline crowed happily, attacking Klaus with a hug.

"Thanks," he said quietly, hugging her back quickly before stepping back.

Caroline pouted at his luke-warm greeting, but trotted off after him into the kitchen where the rest of his siblings were, hopping up on the chair at the kitchen table and gratefully accepting the juice that Elijah handed her. "Thanks."

"You're quite welcome," he said stiffly, making her stifle a giggle.

Elijah was ten and, in her opinion, he tried too hard to be a grown-up. He insisted on wearing polo shirts and khaki pants all the time, which she couldn't understand for the life of her. Why would anyone _choose _to be in stuffy clothes? "Stefan and Marcel should be here in a few minutes," Esther said from the counter, where she was preparing sandwiches.

"Okay, Mum."

"What are we doing today, Nik?" Caroline asked, excited to do party activities.

"I want to play Operation," he said quietly.

"Can I play?" Rebekah asked.

"Yes," Caroline said happily at the same time as Klaus let out a sharp denial.

Rebekah's eyes filled with tears. "You never let me play with you, Nik! Ever. Why are you so mean?"

"Niklaus, let your sister play."

"No, Mum. It's my birthday. I don't want her to play."

"You're just worried I'll beat you," Rebekah said, her lower lip still trembling.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"I think we should let her play with us, Nik," Caroline said as she walked to the cabinet, standing slightly precariously on her toes to reach the cardboard box containing the game.

"Okay. Fine," Klaus immediately capitulated, making Caroline smile.

She brought back the box and they moved to sit on the floor, the tweezers clutched carefully in Klaus's hand. Klaus was absurdly good at games that required fine motor skills-probably something that was a product of his obsession with painting-and Caroline pouted as he efficiently picked out half the bones before she and Rebekah had gotten one. "This is no fun," Rebekah said.

"You wanted to play," Klaus reminded her.

The doorbell rang, and a few moments later Stefan walked into the room, thrusting a neatly-wrapped present into Klaus's hands and sitting down in between him and Caroline. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you."

Marcel got there a few minutes later, and they decided to switch to Uno.

"Wild Draw Four," Caroline announced proudly, slapping the card down, making Stefan groan as he picked up four cards. "I pick yellow."

She saw Klaus smirk out of the corner of her eye and she shot him a bright smile. Rebekah and Marcel took their turns and then Klaus put down a card, Caroline almost immediately playing one of her own on top. "Uno," she said happily.

Klaus ended up winning, and they were about to play again when Esther announced that it was time for cake. They sang _Happy Birthday_, ate cake, and then Klaus opened his presents. Stefan got him a set of action figures, and Marcel got him a large box of Pirate Legos. At the signal of Esther's raised eyebrow, he thanked them both politely before opening Caroline's present. She'd dragged her mother to the toy store and looked around for forty-five minutes for the perfect painting set.

He smiled brightly at her, immediately unwrapping it to look through the watercolor book, already completely engrossed, and Esther graced Caroline with one of her rare genuine smiles. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Ugh. Tyler, you're so mean!"

"I'm not mean. It's true. You're a brat."

"I am _not _a brat," Caroline said, her voice low and slightly dangerous.

"Yes, you are. You're a bratty tattle-tale," Tyler said accusingly.

"Shut it, Tyler," Klaus said irritably from the other side of the lunch table after swallowing a bite of his sandwich.

"Or what?"

Klaus shrugged. "Or you're embarrassing yourself."

"Am not."

"Well, when you say that about her, you're lying to everyone around you, and that's embarrassing," Klaus said, shrugging.

"_You're _embarrassing."

Klaus just rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Go away, Tyler," Caroline ordered.

"Fine," Tyler said rather petulantly, stalking off.

"Thanks, Nik," Caroline said, smiling at him.

"For what?"

"Standing up for me."

"Always. And anyway, you wouldn't have needed it if he wasn't such a prick."

"Nik!" Caroline screeched. "That's a _bad _word."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "And?"

"And you shouldn't say it."

"Why not?"

"Because...because it's _bad_."

Klaus's lips twitched. "All right. If you say so."

"I _do_ say so," Caroline said haughtily, suppressing a smile when he ducked his head, grinning and taking another bite of his sandwich.

* * *

"Guess what, Caroline?" Elena asked, giggling uncontrollably.

"What?"

"Tatia _likes _Klaus."

Caroline resisted the urge to snort. Elena, Tatia, and Katherine were triplets, and the three of them were as gorgeous as they were irritating. "Well, I wish Tatia the best of luck," Caroline said dryly.

Frankly, regardless of the fact that the triplets were no longer flat chested, she doubted Klaus would ever give the girl the time of day.

"No, I mean she _like-likes _him."

"Yes, I got that. I'm not an idiot."

Elena gave her a slightly hurt look. "I didn't say you were."

Caroline shrugged, sliding off the bench when the bell rang and walking beside Elena who chattered on and on about nothing in particular. She took her usual seat by Klaus in math class, and got out her notebook before turning to him. Though she was 99% sure that he didn't like Tatia, she felt the need to reassure herself. "Elena just told me that Tatia like-likes you."

He made a hum of agreement. "I've noticed."

"Really?" Caroline asked rather incredulously.

As observant as Klaus was, _she _hadn't noticed that Tatia was interested. How could she have missed it?

"Yes. She keeps smiling at me and doing that hair-twirling thing that you do around Matt Donovan."

"I don't like Matt Donovan."

"I never said you did," he said, smirking slightly, though she felt like it was..._off _for some reason.

"Um. Right. Okay. Anyway, you don't like Tatia?"

He shrugged. "She's pretty, I suppose."

"That's not an answer."

He grunted, elbowing her in the side as the teacher started talking. Caroline sighed but quieted immediately, her eyes snapping up to study the whiteboard. Whatever. She didn't care. Klaus didn't like Tatia, and even if he did it was none of her business.

At least, that's what she told herself when she saw them holding hands as they walked down the hallway three days later.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought! :D  
As I said at the beginning, this is the prologue, and the next chapter will pick up on their first day of high school :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	2. Baby

**A/N: Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to this story! The fact that I have gotten so many reviews in such a short time inspired me to write more, so here it is. As promised, this picks up on their first day of high school, so they're both 14 (though I've put Klaus's birthday in early November, and obviously Caroline's is October 10th).  
Enjoy!**  
**-Angie**

* * *

"Aren't you even the least bit excited?" Caroline was asking cheerfully as she practically bounded up the front steps to the school building.

"No," Klaus said honestly. "I'm really not."

He and Caroline would be mostly separated into different classes for the first time, and he wasn't looking forward to it. They'd been practically joined at the hip since they'd been small children, and he honestly felt a sort-of separation anxiety.

The only class they had together was maths, though they shared the same lunch period as well. "You're not even excited to see Tatia? Didn't she come back from her trip?"

He shrugged. "Last week, I think. I haven't talked to her."

Caroline frowned. "Why?"

"Didn't feel like it."

"Seriously? You can't just blow off your girlfriend because you don't feel like talking to her. It's rude."

Frankly, he agreed with Caroline, though not because it was rude, but because it would make Tatia about ten times more irritating than she usually was. When he ignored her she got unbearably clingy, which really just made him want to hide in his house and never come out.

"Klaus!"

He winced as his girlfriend of six months came up behind him, covering his eyes. "Guess who?"

"Tatia," he said dryly.

"Correct," Tatia said cheerfully, grabbing his hand in hers. "You didn't call me," she said, pouting.

He shot Caroline an exasperated look, but she didn't look all that sympathetic. "I'm sorry Tatia. I was busy."

"With what?"

He shrugged. "Painting. Hanging out with friends."

"So I'm not more important than you friends?"

He resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands.

"I'm just going to head to English. I'll talk to you later, Nik. I hope you had a good summer, Tatia."

Klaus winced as Caroline walked away, realizing that Tatia had purposefully snubbed her, and sighed. "Everyone's equally important," he said, trying not to sound too irritated with her.

"Even Caroline?"

He frowned. "Yes. Why?"

"I don't know. You just spend a lot of time with her."

"She's my best friend," he said tiredly.

"And you let her call you Nik."

"We've known each other since we were kids. She's practically family. That's what my family calls me," he explained, trying to sound patient (and probably failing, though Tatia didn't seem to pick up on it).

"Can I call you Nik?"

"No," he said immediately, discarding patience and politeness altogether.

Tatia pouted, but was silent until he spoke again.

"What do you have first?"

"Chemistry."

"I do as well."

"That's so great! We can be lab partners."

She dragged him down the hall and he opened the door for her to go into the classroom, reflecting that as annoying as Tatia was, she had an excellent arse. Then again, so did lots of other girls who were much _less _irritating.

Like Caroline.

He inwardly shook himself. Caroline was off-limits. She always had been and always would be. He couldn't risk losing her.

It took him ten minutes to realize that he'd just admitted to himself that he liked Caroline Forbes as more than a friend.

**XXX**

"You need to stay away from Klaus."

Caroline looked up from her phone to stare at Tatia in complete disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"Look, it's okay that you like him. Who wouldn't? But keep your paws off, he's mine."

Caroline opened her mouth to tell Tatia that she was welcome to live in her catty immature bubble of bitch if she'd like but she had no right to drag her into it, but decided to go a more diplomatic route. "We're just friends."

"I know. And it had better stay that way."

Caroline couldn't restrain a snort, which caused Tatia to give her a filthy look.

"Tatia. You have nothing to worry about. I'm practically family, he doesn't think of me that wa–"

"Yeah, that's what he said this morning."

"Well then why are you asking me about it?" Caroline asked, honestly bewildered by Tatia's forcefulness.

"Because it's obvious that you like him."

"Well, I don't. And even if I did, you should trust him enough to know that he wouldn't cheat on you. It takes two to tango, hypothetically."

"Whatever," Tatia said, clearly not having a comeback.

**XXX**

"Tatia told me to 'keep my paws off' of you today," Caroline said, sounding a bit harassed as she walked into the Mikaelson's house without knocking.

Klaus looked up from his phone. "Yes, she asked me why I spent so much time with you today."

"What did you say?"

"That you're my best friend. Practically family, and that she shouldn't worry."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "No offense, but she's not the nicest person in the world."

"I know," Klaus said, turning back to his phone.

He'd considered his options that day and had decided that if Tatia got any worse on the clinginess front, he'd break up with her. He didn't plan on telling Caroline that, since she'd probably either overreact or think it was her fault (or both). He'd tell her if he got closer to that point.

In addition, he felt like if he broke up with Tatia it would be harder to resist telling Caroline how he felt. She was completely oblivious as far as he could tell, and he wasn't interested in bringing her attention to the fact that he wouldn't mind dating her.

He felt like he should be ashamed that the majority of his fantasies when he was alone in his bedroom jacking off consisted of his blonde best friend in various states of undress, but he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty.

After all, no one could read his mind, and if he wanted to think of Caroline naked on top of him he would. As long as he never called Tatia 'Caroline' he'd be fine.

Caroline flopped down on the couch next to him, putting her feet on the armrest under his arm. He pushed her ankles away, but she glared at him, and he resigned himself to having Caroline's legs in his lap.

Caroline's long, shapely, lean legs.

He was so fucked.

His phone buzzed and he grabbed it, seeing a message from Tatia.

_Hey baby_

Resisting the urge to make a disgusted face at her greeting (she had refused to change it, and as pet names went it was better than others).

_Hi_

_Are u free friday?_

"Do we have anything we're doing Friday?" Klaus asked Caroline, hoping that she'd say yes (a danger sign for his relationship with Tatia if he'd ever known one).

"Nope. Why?"

"Tatia wants to do something. I was just checking."

She gave him an assessing look. "Trying to get out of it?"

"Unfortunately, probably not."

She laughed quietly. "Why are you with her if you don't like spending time with her?"

Deciding that the true answer wasn't appropriate ('Because she's got an excellent arse and it feels good to kiss her), he settled for "It's not that I don't like spending time with her, she can just be grating in large doses."

Caroline gave him a suspicious look, but shrugged. "Well, no. As far as I know, you're free. Even if you weren't, I have a date."

"You _what_?"

"I have a date," she repeated slowly, clearly surprised by his incredulous reaction.

"With who?"

"Matt Donovan."

"Really?" Klaus asked, a little bit disgusted.

"Yes. Really."

He was about to ask why on earth she was even considering going with him, as he was boring with no personality, but was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone.

_u there?_

He sighed.

_Yes. Sorry. I'm free._

"I can't believe you don't like Matt," Caroline said crossly, wriggling her toes against the armrest of the couch.

_Do u want to see a movie?_

"It's not that I don't like him. He's just…" he struggled to find the equivalent of 'not good enough for you' without sounding like a prick or an overprotective older brother (because the feelings he had were most _definitely _not brotherly).

_If you'd like._ he sent back to Tatia.

"He's just…?" Caroline asked, prompting him to finish his sentence.

Klaus shrugged. "I guess I just wouldn't have picked him out of a line-up for you."

Caroline snorted. "Would you have picked _anyone _out of a line-up for me?"

_Still havnt seen the movie about the mail pigeons. Did you want to see it?_

He stared at his phone, trying not to groan. Caroline, knowing his facial expressions much too well for his taste, laughed quietly. "What does she want you to do?"

"See the movie about the mail delivery pigeons."

Caroline smiled. "It was really good, actually. I don't know how much you'd like it, but I did a lot."

"When did you see it?'

"Matt and I went last week."

Klaus opened his mouth and shut it again. How had he missed this? "When did you start dating Matt?"

"We're not _dating_, we're just...hanging out," he made a face and she glared at him. "And anyway, you don't get veto power on my relationships. It's none of your business, okay?"

"Of course it's my business. I'm your best friend."

He resisted the urge to throw his damn phone across the room when Tatia texted him again. _baby u there?_

"Well, if you want veto power, then I should get veto power. Tatia's a bitch," Caroline said, picking at her nails.

_I'll meet you there at seven._

"All right. I'll break up with her on Friday."

Caroline shot him an incredulous look. "I was kidding."

"I wasn't."

"You'd really break up with Tatia because I don't like her?"

Klaus considered his next words carefully. "No. I don't think it would factor into my decision much. She's just irritating me a lot at the moment."

_okay. c u then baby. 3_

He wrinkled his nose at her text, making Caroline grin and grab the phone away.

"Give it back, Caroline."

"No, I want to see why you have that look on your fa-_Oh. My. God. _Nik!You let her call you _baby_?!" Caroline asked incredulously, breaking into a giggle fit.

He rolled his eyes. "No. I don't 'let' her. She just won't stop."

"Maybe you should ask her more nicely, _baby_."

"Caroline…"

"What, _baby_, are you upset?'

He pushed her off of the couch by the backs of her shins and ankles, and she landed on the floor with a screech and a thump.

"That wasn't very nice, baby."

"Not funny, Caroline," he said, holding his hand out expectantly for his phone, which she gave back, and he sent Tatia a quick confirmation text.

Caroline just smirked and sat back down next to him. "If you say so, baby."

"I hate you."

"No you don't. You love me," she said confidently, swinging her ankles back onto his armrest, causing him to roll his eyes.

God, he wished she wasn't right.

**XXX**

"It was so great!" Tatia was saying happily as she walked beside him, his hand in hers. "I loved it. Didn't you love it, Klaus?"

"It was fine," he said vaguely, trying to figure out how to approach the conversation they needed to have.

"Just fine?" she asked teasingly.

"It was funny, I suppose."

"I still don't get why you wouldn't kiss me though. I made sure we got seats in the back, 'cause I know you hate kissing in public."

"No matter how far back in the theatre we are, we're still kissing in public," he said, his patience wearing thin.

"But no one could see us, baby–"

"Tatia, I think we should break up," he interrupted.

"I-_what_?"

"I think we should break up."

"But...why?"

"It's just not working anymore," he said.

It wasn't that he was trying to be nice or to not hurt her feelings. Frankly, he didn't care. He just didn't want it to get back to Caroline that he was horrible to her and used his best friend as an excuse, especially since Tatia would go home and tell her sisters and Katherine would corner Caroline at school the next day to tell her.

"But...but it's going great. We haven't fought in _ages_."

"I don't care."

"Baby–"

"Don't call me that," he snapped.

She pouted. "_Klaus_, tell me what we can do to save this. I want to be with you."

"Tatia, this isn't a joint decision. I want to break up, so we're breaking up," he said, forgetting tact for the moment.

Her eyes filled with tears. "It's Caroline, isn't it? You're breaking up with me because you _like _her."

"I'm breaking up with you because you're jealous and clingy," Klaus snapped, thoroughly fed up.

"I'm only jealous because you two go around having...eye sex."

"We do not. She's my best friend, Tatia."

Tatia had tears running down her face now. "What if I promised not to talk about her anymore or mention it?"

"That's only one of the problems, Tatia. Look. I'm done, so we're done. I'm sorry you're upset," he said, not all that sorry at all, and not caring whether he sounded it.

"Whatever."

He rolled his eyes and stalked off towards home, thankful he was within walking distance (and more thankful that he'd finally ended it).

**XXX**

"How'd your date go?" Klaus asked the next morning when she came into the house announcing that her mom was working and he needed to entertain her.

She shrugged. "It was good. He's really nice."

"Good," he said vaguely.

She smiled at him. "I really like him, Nik."

He nodded.

"How'd the break-up with Tatia go?"

"She cried and tried to convince me to stay," he said shrugging rather boredly.

"And what did you say?" Caroline asked carefully.

"That breaking up wasn't a joint decision, and I wanted to break up, so we were breaking up."

She literally facepalmed, and his lips twitched. "You don't just _say _that to people, Nik. You have to be polite."

"She's never polite. How come I have to be polite?"

Caroline glared at him. "It's just basic human decency. You spout off some lie about how it's not her, it's you, and then say you can still be friends and ignore her for the rest of her life."

"Wow. Sounds incredibly sincere."

She shrugged. "That's the way the world works."

"And how do you know? Have you had more boyfriends before Matt Donovan?" he asked, half curious and have upset.

She rolled her eyes and stole a piece of popcorn from the bowl he was eating out of. "No. For your information, Matt's my first boyfriend."

"So you _are _dating now."

"He asked me last night," she said happily.

He was almost happy for her. Really, he was. He knew it was probably unhealthy to be upset that another person could bring her so much happiness when he wanted to be the one to put a smile on her face, but if Caroline was happy, then he should be happy.

Even if the person who made her happy was the most boring useless boy in the world.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review if you liked it! They inspire me to update faster :P  
I hope that those who are celebrating are having a lovely Easter.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	3. Matt

**A/N: This is the last chapter set in freshman year. The next one we move to sophomore year. I'm trying to move fast-ish until they actually get into a relationship (spoilers?). No beta for this, as usual.  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

Caroline curled her legs up under her as she sat on the old slightly ratty couch in the basement, where Esther had helped Klaus set up a small painting area once she and his father realized that he wasn't going to stop with "that whole art thing" (as Mikael called it).

She was reading the book they'd been assigned in English, every now and then looking up at Klaus, who had been sulking for the last few weeks, and she couldn't figure out why.

Well, he'd been sulking for three weeks, but now he'd moved on to half-ignoring her, and it was starting to get to her. When she'd come into his painting area he'd barely grunted a hello. At first she thought that he was just concentrating, but she soon realized that he just didn't want to talk to her.

"What's going on?" she asked abruptly.

"I'm painting."

"Obviously. I meant like, why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not ignoring you," he said slowly.

She snorted. "Are you kidding? You've been ignoring me since practically the first week of school. You barely talk to me, and you're only hanging out with Stefan and Marcel, and Tyler who's a total jackass."

"I'm just busy," he said, rather lamely.

"What, am I not cool enough for you anymore? Now that you've broken up with Tatia and have Clingy-Cami and that bitch Hayley all over you, you don't have time for me?"

He looked honestly baffled by her words, but then seemed to center himself. "I'm not ignoring you, Caroline."

"Okay, well, when you've decided to stop lying to yourself and start talking to me, you'll find me upstairs with Rebekah," she said, holding back tears.

His face softened slightly. "Caroline…"

She waited expectantly, and when he didn't continue, she narrowed her eyes. "That's not an apology."

"I don't have anything to apologize for," he said, his face going back to blankness before he turned back to the canvas.

She snorted, gathering her things. "You're an ass," she muttered.

He just shrugged, not even turning to say goodbye as she walked up the stairs, making her huff, and she waited until she was up the stairs to wipe her eyes before her jaw set.

She didn't understand what was wrong with him, she had racked her brain trying to find anything that could be even close to a plausible excuse for his behavior, and had concluded that it wasn't her problem.

He'd started this whole bullshit thing since he'd broken up with Tatia, and she refused to believe that was a plausible reason for his behavior. She couldn't think of anything earth shattering that happened, besides her getting together with Matt Donovan, but he had no reason to be mad about that.

Well, unless he was mad that she didn't tell him, which, now that she thought about it, was a distinct possibility.

She sunk down on the couch in the living room next to Rebekah, who was watching television. "Had Nik been angry lately?"

Rebekah turned to her, an incredulous frown on her face. "Do I _look _like his therapist to you? I have no idea how he's feeling. As far as I know he's been his normal ball of happiness and sunshine."

"No, I'm serious. Has he been angrier than usual?"

"You do realize that in general my interactions with my brother are limited to eye rolling and leaving the room, right?"

Caroline shrugged.

"You could ask Kol," Rebekah suggested. "He would know more about it than I would."

Caroline nodded, reflecting that she really should have gone to Kol first. Klaus and the twins were the closest in age of all the siblings (only eleven months apart), and though Rebekah made a point of avoiding he brothers as much as possible, Klaus and Kol got along very well until one of them got angry (which was the case almost as often as not). Though Caroline had always practically been glued to Klaus, Kol was still a good friend of hers.

"Is he home?"

Rebekah shrugged. "I haven't noticed."

Caroline sighed and trudged up to the second floor, banging on Kol's door twice before walking in without waiting for an answer. Kol didn't look up from whatever video game he was playing, but greeted her.  
"Has Nik been angry lately?"

"Not particularly. Sulky yes, but not angry."

Caroline sighed, flopping down on Kol's bed, and the boy did turn this time to glare at her. "Oh, yes Caroline, please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you. Why is he sulky?"

"Because he's a jealous arse."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you _know_."

"No, I don't, actually."

Kol snorted. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Darling."

"Oh, shut up," Caroline mumbled.

Kol had taken to calling her 'darling' as his form of giving Klaus endless shit for calling her 'love'. Unfortunately, Klaus didn't seem to care all that much, which meant that both of them used absurd pet names, and people at school got confused and assumed that she was flipping dating both brothers.

She honestly wouldn't care all that much if Elena Gilbert wasn't doing that exact fucking thing with the Salvatore brothers and not getting any bitchy whispered rumors for it.

Caroline honestly pitied those boys. Elena was already practically a master manipulator and she was barely fourteen.

The only triplet that was even _slightly _tolerable was Katherine, and she and Caroline were honestly on their way to becoming quite good friends before Klaus broke up with Tatia. He apparently hadn't been very nice about it, and Katherine ignored Caroline by proxy for a good two weeks (Caroline had found over the years that people tended to automatically assumed that she and Klaus agreed on everything, which was _so _not the case).

Caroline waited for the other girl to calm down a bit before she approached her, and they'd gone back to their previous state of friendship, but Caroline had been slightly resentful towards Klaus for putting her in that situation in the first place.

"Stop thinking so hard, I might catch it."

She snorted. "Look, Nik has no reason to be jealous. I haven't been spending any less time with him since I started dating Matt. And, anyway, he blew me off for Tatia a few times. He has no right to talk."

"I never said he had a reason. I said how he was acting. Nik doesn't really need a reason for anything to get all broody, you know that."

Caroline huffed. "Whatever."

Kol shrugged before changing the subject. "So. You and Donovan."

"What?"

"Do I have to have a talk with him?"

"Oh my god, please don't. You have no right to interfere with my life, and even if you did, Matt's really nice."

"You fancy him. Therefore, your judgment is clouded."

"What, do _you _think he's not a nice person?"

"I never said that. Look, just tell us if something goes wrong, all right?"

Caroline rolled her eyes, pushing off of Kol's bed. "I'll feel so sorry for Rebekah when she starts dating people."

Kol raised an eyebrow. "Oh, if Bekah has any sense she won't start dating until everyone's moved away."

"Goodbye, Kol."

She made her way down the stairs, called a goodbye to Rebekah and left for home.

* * *

"Caroline?"

She kept walking, ignoring Klaus who called her name again and was jogging to catch up with her.

"Caroline, wait."

He arrived next to her, and she kept walking, not looking at him even though he fell into step beside her. "I'm sorry," he said without preamble.

She didn't talk, but gave him a fraction of a nod so that he knew that she was listening.

"I shouldn't have ignored you for the last few weeks. I'm just...I was mad because you didn't tell me."

"I thought so."

"Right, well. I apologize. It wasn't fair of me."

"No, it wasn't."

"How can I acquit myself?"

"You can be nice to Matt, and not give me shit about our relationship."

He sighed. "I suppose that's doable," he said long-sufferingly.

She glared at him and his lips twitched. "I was just joking, love."

"Whatever," she said, trying to keep the anger in her voice and failing.

She could never stay mad at him for long (and vice-versa), and it was an endless point of frustration for her, especially when he did something astronomically stupid and she couldn't stay mad at him for longer than a week.

They walked in silence for a few moments until they were out of the school building and he took a deep breath. "Are you busy Thursday?"

"Yes. I have practice."

"Friday?"

"Date with Matt."

"Saturday?"

"I could make time if it's worth it."

He grinned. "Pizza?"

"Sure."

"I'll even let you pick the movie."

She snorted. "Dangerous words, Nik."

"Oh, you know me, love. I'm a risk-taker," he said dryly.

She laughed. "Yeah, right."

"Caroline!"

They both turned to see Matt jogging up to them. He gave Klaus a quick confused look before pecking her on the lips. "Hey, you."

"Hey," she said shyly.

Klaus's eye twitched, and she rolled her eyes at him, before she had an idea. "Hey, Matt. Are you free Saturday?"

Klaus gave her a disbelieving look before opening his mouth, probably to ask if she was out of her mind, but she pinned him with a glare and he shut it again.

"Um, yeah. But we're going out Friday, Care."

"Yeah, I know. Klaus and I are having pizza though, and I'd love it if you could come over and hang out with us. Please?"

She grinned as the boys exchanged a look that clearly asked if she was serious, before they both reluctantly nodded.

"Great," she said happily, ignoring the fact that both of them looked like they'd rather jump off a cliff than spend even another minute in the other's presence.

XXX

"What kind of pizza do you want?" Klaus asked Matt politely, Caroline giving him a thumbs up over Matt's shoulder.

"Hawaiian, if that's cool."

Klaus's eye twitched, but Caroline jumped in before Klaus could go on a 'fruit has no place on pizza' rant. "That's fine. Let's just get two."

"Sure, Care," Matt said agreeably.

She smiled at him, and Klaus obligingly called the pizza place, unable to keep the snark out of his tone as he ordered a Hawaiian one in addition to their usual pepperoni with half-mushrooms, half-tomatoes.

"So, how's your year going so far?" Matt asked Klaus awkwardly.

"Fine. Yours?" Klaus responded, his voice clipped.

Caroline resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

It was the day before Christmas Eve, and Caroline woke up to large, fat snowflakes raining down outside her window. She was spending the night at the Mikaelsons while her mom was at the police station (she would be saving the residents of Mystic County from drunk drivers for the next three days).

Christmastime was always slightly a mixed bag for her. She usually spent the day before Christmas Eve with the Mikaelsons and then her father would pick her up the next morning and they'd spend the day together, and she'd spend Christmas morning with her mother.

Today though, she was going to the Mikaelsons after breakfast.

She ate her cereal and banana, bundled up, and grabbed the shopping bag full of presents before setting off to walk the five blocks. As she normally did, she just barged into the house, having been told years before to not bother to knock or ring the doorbell, and dropped the bag near the door, leaving her coat, scarf, and gloves in a small heap on top of it, and walking to the living room where she could hear Kol and Rebekah bickering.

When she walked in she saw the two siblings on the floor with XBox controllers gripped in their hands while Finn and Elijah sat on the couch gripping their mugs of tea as though they were lifelines. "Where's Nik?" she asked, sitting on the other couch that Elijah and Finn weren't occupying.

"Good morning to you as well, Caroline," Kol said in between his pointed comments to Rebekah. "How are you doing?"

"Sorry, morning. And I'm fine, thanks. You?"

"Very well, thank you," Elijah said stiffly.

"Did you get your early action letters yet?"

"Yes. I was accepted to Harvard, which was my first choice, so I'm in an excellent place."

"Great!"

"Have you thought about where you're going to apply, Caroline?"

"Um. I'm a freshman. It's a little early."

"It's never too early," Finn and Elijah said at the same time.

"What is it never too early for?" Klaus mumbled gruffly from the doorway, clearly having just woken up, running his hand through his hair, which was mussed.

And wearing sweatpants.

Only sweatpants.

"Nik, put a shirt on!" Rebekah yelled, clapping her hands over her eyes.

Klaus ignored her, sinking down on the couch next to Caroline (_seriously?_). "Happy Christmas."

"You too," she said, smiling at him.

_Eyes on his face, Caroline. EYES ON HIS FACE._

"Sorry, I just woke up."

"Clearly," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Is there coffee?"

"Yes. I made sure to start the coffee pot for you."

Klaus mumbled something sounding vaguely like a thank you and stood up, stretching.

"Get me one too, Nik," Caroline ordered, and he waved his hand over his shoulder, confirming that he'd heard her.

Klaus was _not _a morning person.

An hour or two later they were all finishing up brunch, the clinking of silverware against plates slowing, and Esther stood up, shooing everyone back into the living room. "You all will have to entertain yourselves for a few hours. I need to go to the store for groceries. Your father's here–"

"By 'here' you mean 'locked in his office unavailable unless someone starts a fire', right?" Kol asked.

Esther gave him a chastising look before continuing. "Your father's here you need anything. Rebekah, I need you to clean your room and move in the spare air mattress for your cousin Freya. Elijah, I need you to move into Finn's room so that your Aunt Dahlia can take yours for the next few days, all right? Niklaus, Kol, Henrik, rooms need to be cleaned. You are not allowed to ask Caroline to help."

"But she's so _helpful_," Kol whined, making both Esther and Caroline roll their eyes in tandem.

"I'll be back soon," Esther said again. "Well do presents with Caroline tonight."

There was a flurry of activity as Elijah, Finn, and Rebekah went off to do the things they'd been told, a sulky Henrik following at Finn's urging. Klaus and Kol declared that room cleaning could wait an hour or two (Caroline wasn't sure how much she agreed), and that they wanted to do other things.

"Any hints on presents, Caroline?" Kol asked.

"Nope."

XXX

Caroline and all of the Mikaelson siblings sat on the floor near the tree as Henrik passed out Caroline's presents to everyone and Caroline received a small pile.

They went in order of age from oldest to youngest, usually, and so Finn and Elijah went first, thanking Caroline politely for the books (Caroline had asked Esther for hints for the oldest siblings). She was next, and Elijah and Finn had chipped in together to get her a gift certificate to the spa. Rebekah had given her a new phone case (her old one had broken the week before), and Kol and Henrik got her candy, as usual. She saved Klaus's present for last, and opened it to find a really nice scarf and sweater that she'd admired in a window while they'd been walking downtown a few months before.

"You remembered that I wanted this?"

He shrugged. "It was on clearance," he mumbled, as though trying to downplay the thoughtfulness of the gift. She gave him a hug, which he returned, and a beaming smile.

He was next, and her gift to him was always art-related and usually practical, so he wasn't surprised when he found paint (though it was the really expensive kind he only used for his bigger projects). "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

XXX

Later that night she sat on the ratty couch in Klaus's art studio, subtly peeking over her book to watch him paint.

It was fascinating to her, really, the way his hands moved so slowly and surely. His strokes were so precise and pointed, and he had a way of infusing emotion into the paintings that she admired.

Right now he was outlining a woman's face, and she couldn't tell who it was. She stood up, walking closer to inspect it over his shoulder, and he was so absorbed that he jumped suddenly when she approached, the blue paint splattering off the brush all over onto her jeans and t-shirt.

She screeched and jumped back, but the damage was done, and she glared at him. "Really?"

"Well, if you hadn't surprised me," he muttered petulantly, grabbing a rag.

"Don't worry, it's ruined," she said, sighing and inspecting the stains. "Another shirt relegated to my pajama drawer."

"You could always pretend it's a fashion statement," he suggested.

"Very funny."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm so happy with the response that this fic has gotten so far. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so much. Please review, as that's the only way I'll know if what you think :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	4. Hide and Seek

**A/N: Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to this story! In the start of this chapter, Klaus and Caroline are at Halloween of sophomore year. This story will have smut, and there's (sort of not really) some in this chapter. More info on that at the bottom about that.  
This fic is unbeta'd, as always.  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

"Does this look okay?" Caroline asked, walking out to turn slowly for Katherine's opinion.

"Yeah. It shows off your boobs really well."

Caroline snorted, turning to the side and adjusting the neckline slightly. "What boobs?"

Katherine snorted. "Just because my sisters and I were dubiously blessed with the need for sports bras doesn't mean that you don't have them."

Caroline snorted, but in her heart of hearts knew that Katherine was mostly spot-on, especially with the fake-ish corset.

"Matt will come in his pants," Katherine said decisively, grinning.

"Ew."

"Hey, I just speak the truth."

Caroline rolled her eyes, turning around to inspect the way the tiny dress cut off just below her ass, showing her long legs. "You don't think it's too much?"

"No. All three of us are wearing even more revealing things. You'll be fine."

"What are you going as?"

"Tatia's going as a police officer, Elena's a 'sexy' nurse, and I'm going as the Queen of Hearts."

Caroline hummed, bending down to find shoes to go with her dress. "You might not want to do that unless you want to flash everyone."

"Whatever," Caroline mumbled, picking up a pair of three inch heels and stuffing her feet into them.

"Can you walk in those?"

Caroline turned to glare at her friend, who put her hands up in surrender. "Right, never mind, sorry."

Caroline gave her hair one last fluff in the mirror before turning to walk out. To be truthful, she wasn't all that concerned if Matt came in his pants. In her heart of hearts, she knew that she was most anticipating Klaus's reaction to her, and that made her feel like a terrible person. She knew what emotional cheating was, thank you very much, but she liked Matt well enough that she felt attached (and she was also getting the feeling that he was carrying a torch for Elena, anyway, which made her feel less bad).

She had chosen the outfit carefully, and she wouldn't be surprised if he recognized the significance.

**XXX**

It was Halloween, and Klaus made some final adjustments to his 'costume' (in quotes because it was really just a button up shirt and slacks-he'd figure out what he was supposed to be later), and followed Kol outside to Damon's car.

The other boy had capitulated to bringing him, Kol, Stefan, and Marcel to the dance with him, and Klaus was rather thankful. He had no interest in his parents driving him.

"Nice costume," Marcel said rather sarcastically as Klaus climbed in, squished into the middle seat between him and Stefan (Kol got carsick, which guaranteed him shotgun, to everyone else's annoyance).

They talked about what they'd heard the girls were dressing as, and Stefan, Marcel, and Kol spent about ten minutes interrogating him about Caroline, saying that he _must _know what she was dressed as (and when he'd snapped at them that he didn't, they all started talking about how hot she was, which he knew very well and didn't need to be reminded of).

Frankly, he didn't, mostly because he hadn't thought he was going to go until Kol pointed out that if he didn't he'd be stuck babysitting Rebekah and Henrik.

He followed them out of the car, showing the girl at the door his Student ID, before they all walked in together. As always, his eyes immediately scanned for Caroline, and he felt his breath stop.

She was dressed as what must be considered 'sexy Red Riding Hood', and he decided right then and there that she must have been trying to kill him. He remembered very well her obsession with the story as a child, and how she turned every hide-and-seek-tag game they played with his siblings into some variation of the story for an entire year (he wasn't kidding when he said obsession).

He half-hoped that it was purposeful and that she remembered, and that she was trying to entice _him_ with that hemline that was so short that the thing barely covered her arse, the red and white flounced skirt bouncing as she danced with Donovan. The neckline was low and fastened with a tight cloth bustier, showing her cleavage just under the half-transparent ruffled white fabric. He almost groaned out loud at how absolutely _fucked _he was, and Kol gave him a smug look, which he countered with a filthy glare.

"Shut it," he mumbled.

"I didn't say anything," Kol half-sang before descending into humming 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf'.

Klaus nearly punched him before taking a deep breath and walking towards his best friend.

_That's right, Nik. Best friend. BEST. FRIEND._

He almost automatically walked over to Caroline, who gave him a huge smile when she saw him, attacking him with a hug, which pressed her barely-covered soft curves against his body.

_Christ._

He'd seen her in pajamas or shorts and tank tops in summer, both of which arguably revealed more skin, but this was highlighting her body in all the right places, in all the right ways, and he let go of her abruptly because he felt his cock twitch against her thigh and wouldn't _that _be mortifying if she noticed.

**XXX**

"You look good, Care," Matt said as he spun her again, being a good sport and dancing with her even though he was slightly hopeless at it.

"Thanks," she said happily, smiling brightly at him.

She heard a light cough over her shoulder and turned to see Klaus standing there, his eyes slightly dark as his eyes raked over her form. She pushed down a smirk and hugged him. "Hey!"

"Hello, love."

She felt the tiniest movement against her thigh, and inwardly patted herself on the back. She still had no idea if he liked _her _that way, but at least she knew that he liked the way she looked, and that was a start.

"Donovan," Klaus greeted, giving the other boy a slight nod, which Matt returned, sliding his arm around Caroline's waist.

She leaned into him, enjoying the way Klaus's eyes flashed with irritation before he excused himself to see Kol. Yes, it was rude to make him jealous, but she'd had to sit through a year of Tatia and a month of Hayley (she suspected that was more because he wanted her to leave him alone than anything).

"Let's keep dancing," she suggested to Matt.

He nodded, his eyes flicking to Elena in her tiny white dress and nurse hat. Caroline tried to ignore the fact that she didn't even feel a stab of disappointment in her stomach at his eyes moving to another girl.

Okay, fine, so maybe she wasn't all that attached, and she knew it was mean, since Matt was so nice. But when his lips descended on hers for a tiny-bit-more-than-chaste kiss, she wasn't complaining.

**XXX**

Klaus ran his hand through his hair distractedly as he watched Caroline dance with Matt, her skirt nearly flying up at least twice in the last ten minutes, and decided that it was time to leave. He caught a ride with Marcel who was getting picked up a few minutes later, and immediately headed to his room after kicking his shoes off at the door.

He undressed down to only his boxers and fell into bed, closing his eyes. All he could see in his mind was Caroline laughing in that goddamn dress, and he felt his cock twitch insistently.

Unable to resist, he reached down to stroke himself, groaning quietly as the fantasy of his best friend filled his mind.

_There was Caroline in front of him, her eyes wide and innocent, the outfit from the dance clinging to her every curve. "Catch me, Nik," she said, laughing and running away, her heels clicking against the hardwood of his house. He followed, grabbing her around the waist easily after only a few yards and pushing her against the wall._

_Caroline pressed herself against him, moaning as he kissed her neck, his hands moving down to grasp her arse in his hands under the short skirt of her dress. He moved his palms down and trailed his fingers against the top hem of her thigh-high stockings, her head tipped back to allow his lips better access._

_"Nik," she sighed, her hand moving down to rub him through his boxers. "I want you."_

_He wanted desperately to see all of her, and she turned to face the wall, her hands splayed against it with her legs spread, the pathetic excuse for a skirt bunching around her hips to reveal how wet she was for him._

_He positioned himself at her entrance, pushing in slowly, enveloping himself in her tight pussy. "You feel so good, Nik."_

He groaned as his hand moved faster up and down his shaft, pumping himself as he imagined fucking Caroline from behind, his hands around her thighs, the roughness of her stockings against his palms as she moaned his name, and he came on his hand, breathing harshly.

He grabbed a nearby shirt, wiping off his hands and groaned, rolling over, shoving the pillow over his head.

He was so fucked.

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Nik!" Caroline sang as she entered Klaus's studio in the basement, leaving the door wide open.

"Thank you, love," he said, his eyes never moving from the painting in front of him.

She wasn't having it though, and she pulled him to face her, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the fact that paint from the brush in his hand was smearing against the back of her shirt.

"What are we watching tonight?"

Caroline and the younger Mikaelson siblings had a tradition. When there was a birthday they'd all watch a movie together (birthday-person's choice, obviously) and eat cake from the bakery downtown.

"Er-I haven't decided yet."

"Okay, well you only have a few hours. Your Mom went to pick up the cake and then she's making dinner."

Caroline was over for dinner at their place more often than not. Since her father had left and her mother threw herself into work, Esther had unofficially taken on the responsibility of another daughter about half the time, though she never complained.

Caroline was Esther's best-behaved child.

He hummed to show he'd heard her, and she plopped down on the couch, which had been moved there for her convenience earlier that year, and curled up with her phone, playing some sort of game. Resisting the urge to watch her, he continued with the mountains on the landscape with his careful brush strokes.

"We're both sixteen now," she said happily.

"I'm aware."

"Aren't you excited, though? We've had our permits forever, and we can take the test now!"

"Yes, I'm very excited," he said dryly, though it was true.

She had no idea how much of a relief it would be to have some reprieve from his siblings. He needed a car, but he had a feeling that Finn was thinking of getting a new one now that he was in college and had decided that he was better than all of his siblings (therefore freeing it up for Klaus).

"Watch out, road, here we come!"

"I am nervous for the world's population," Kol announced from the doorway, making Klaus and Caroline both turn in surprise. "Mum's back from the store," he added.

"We'll be up in just a moment."

"Have you picked your film?"

"No, Kol," Klaus said tiredly.

"Well you should most likely get on that."

There was a faint sound of the sizzle of something in a frying pan, and Caroline perked up, making Klaus grin. "I'm going to go upstairs. I'm hungry."

She and Kol made their way back up the basement stairs, Klaus following them a moment later, trying to decide how mean to be.

He was very fond of violent action movies, horror movies, and anything involving battles where there was lots of blood and gore. Caroline was not.

He and Kol had joked that there should be a CA rating for movies ('Caroline Appropriate'), and she always made a show of rolling her eyes and saying she could handle it, usually with a harder-than-necessary punch to the arm, but as soon as the thing would go in, her eyes would be firmly shut for half the movie, and she'd cringe away when she peeked through her fingers.

As a result, they didn't often watch action movies with her if they could help it, just because it was polite to not scare the shit out of her on purpose, but it was his birthday, and if he played his cards right while she sat next to him on the couch…

"Reservoir Dogs," he announced as he sat down at the kitchen table in between Caroline and Rebekah.

Kol snorted. "I'm not sure that's Caroline Appropria-_Ouch!_"

"Serves you right. I can handle it," Caroline said, making Kol and Klaus exchange a look at her predictability.

They each grabbed a large slice of cake and settled in the living room. Rebekah curled in the recliner and Kol on the floor in a beanbag, leaving Caroline and Klaus to take the couch. She rested her head against the armrest, her legs extending over his lap so that she could rest her toes on the other, as usual, and he gave the obligatory huff and eyeroll as her calves settled on his lap.

Kol grabbed the remote and started the movie, and Caroline was mostly fine (cringing a bit at times, but not reduced to hiding under a spare sweatshirt) until Nash got his ear chopped off, at which point she slapped her hands over her eyes, mumbling about how gross it was under her breath.

Klaus smiled slightly at her predictable reaction. "I hate you," she mumbled.

"You said you could handle it," he reminded her, grinning.

"Yeah, but you knew I was lying."

"Shh," Kol said harshly, turning around and glaring at them.

Caroline smiled, though her palms were still clapped over her eyes. "Do you want a blanket?"

She scoffed, though she did take the throw blanket he offered her to hide in, sitting up and leaning against him. "Shut up."

She was warm against his shoulder, and he smiled contentedly. Despite that the touch was not sexual in the least, he liked the intimacy of the moment, though he'd never admit it to anyone.

"Cake?" he whispered, pulling the plate of her untouched slice towards them.

She nodded, grabbing it and the fork, clearly trying to ignore the screams emitting from the television as she leaned against him, dropping a few crumbs on his shirt.

* * *

Enough was enough, she decided. It was late January, and she was sick of Matt. Well, really, she was sick of Matt not being Klaus. Matt had become more and more interested in Elena as time went on, and clearly didn't have the heart to break it off. She'd been waiting for a month or two, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but decided that the situation was getting ridiculous. They hadn't kissed more than a few times in the last month, and it honestly felt like she was hanging out with a friend and calling it dating.

They had a date that night, and she'd been mentally scripting her speech all day.

"I'm breaking up with Matt today, I think," Caroline said casually as she and Klaus walked to his car from the school.

He paused for the briefest second before speaking. "I'm sorry…?"

"It's for the best, I think. We just don't work anymore."

"All right."

She glared at him, a bit frustrated by his lack of reaction (shouldn't he feel something?).

"What do you think?"

He shrugged. "I think that it's none of my business, and I think that you know my feelings on him. You have from the day you told me."

"That's true," she allowed.

"I'm happy that you're doing what you think is best for you," he said, pausing for a moment as though he wanted to say more, but seeming to lose his nerve.

"Okay."

He smiled weakly and slid into the driver's seat, waiting for her to get into the passenger side before starting the ignition and backing out.

Caroline looked out the window as they drove in a comfortable silence, wondering whether she'd misread his signals. Was she wrong? Did Klaus not like her like that?

When he dropped her off at her house and sped away, she took some time to get ready for her date before heading out in her own car to meet Matt at the local grill restaurant. She spotted him almost immediately, heading over to slide into the seat across from him in the booth. He'd already ordered her an iced tea (her favorite drink), and it was sitting there waiting for her. She thanked him for his thoughtfulness before taking a sip and trying to decide whether she should do it before the meal started or wait until later.

She decided that she wouldn't be able to stand sitting through a meal with him with the conversation looming over her, and took a deep breath.

"I want to talk to you."

"Okay. I do, too, actually. Do you want to go first?"

She nodded, giving him a weak smile. "Yeah. Thanks. Um...Listen, I've really enjoyed being with you, but I feel like–"

"It's time to break up?" he interrupted, smiling slightly.

"Yeah."

He let out a relieved sigh. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

She laughed quietly. "Well, thanks for making it easy?" she joked.

He nodded. "Yeah, definitely. But hey, Care. I want to stay friends. Like, I'm being serious. I really like you. As a friend, I mean."

"I really like you too, as a friend, I mean," she repeated teasingly.

"To friendship," he said solemnly, raising his glass of Sprite and she did the same with her tea, and they clinked glasses.

"To friendship," she agreed.

* * *

**A/N: ****Thank you for reading! Your reviews motivate me to write more, and they make me inspired to push out the chapters, so thank you so much for that :D It means so much to me that you like this story! ****I think next chapter will be the start of junior year, which I am super excited for ;) **

**A guest said they were happy that this story wasn't 'smut-filled'. While this story definitely won't be based around smut (as Extra Credit is), there will still be smut, as was made obvious by this chapter. The part II of the drabble that started this story (which is the third drabble in Ch. 19 of Their Things) will give you a hint as to when it will be "actual" Klaroline rather than Kland, since there will be a slightly edited version as part of a chapter coming up.  
****Hugs!  
****-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	5. Homecoming

**A/N: Thank you again for all the reviews for this story! I'm a bit behind on responses, but I'll get to them as soon as possible :)  
Someone asked how old they are in junior year, and I realized that a bunch of you aren't from the US, so sorry about that. They're 17. **  
**The age of consent in Virginia is 15 (I checked). We're getting very close to them getting together, actually. There's some Handoline in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it. ;)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

* * *

"I just don't know how he could do this to me," Caroline sniffled on the floor of her bedroom as Katherine rubbed her back.

"He's a dick," Katherine said bluntly. "And he's not worth your time."

"I just...I thought he really liked me_, _you know? I hate how I'm always the stepping-stone. Like, Matt sort-of did that, but we stayed friends, and really it was more of a mutual not-giving-a-fuck. But Damon used me to get closer to you–"

"Yeah, because that worked _so _well."

Caroline shrugged. "He still tried. And now Tyler was just trying to get to Vicki..."  
"He's horrible, Care."

"What am I supposed to do? Homecoming is next week."

"You could ask Klaus."

Caroline shook her head, sniffling. "Nik's going with Hayley."

"He would drop her in less than a second if you asked, and you know it."

"Yeah, but I don't want him to feel obligated. He's my best friend. I want him to have fun," Caroline said through her tears, inwardly feeling her stomach clench at the thought of going to the dance with Klaus.

It was the sort of thing that was supposed to be restricted to daydreams and teen romcoms. The high school best friends only got together in the end of Disney movies and Taylor Swift music videos, and she knew it. She had no intention of ruining her friendship with Klaus because she didn't have a date to Homecoming.

"It's too bad you can't ask Elijah. He's hot and too polite to say no," Katherine said, smirking.

Caroline was 99% sure that Katherine had a resting smirk face. She would probably smirk at her mother's funeral.

"No, he's at Harvard," Caroline sighed before an idea dawned on her. "But I know who I _can_ ask."

**XXX**

"Nik!"

"What, Kol?" Klaus asked irritably from the basement, looking up from his sketchbook.

"Guess who's going to Homecoming?"

"I thought the Bennett girl was going with Jeremy Gilbert?"

"She is," Kol said, a wide smirk on his face. "I'm going with Caroline."

"You're _what_?" Klaus asked, his eyes snapping up to glare at his younger brother.

"I'm going with Caroline," Kol repeated. "Tyler broke up with her to go with Vicki Donovan, apparently."

Klaus's face darkened. "Why didn't she tell me? I'm going to kill him."

"No offense, big brother, but that's probably why she didn't tell you."

"Why did she ask you?"

Kol shrugged. "I don't know, probably because I was available and she knows I won't try to get into her knickers."

"Why didn't she ask me?"

"You're going with Hayley," Kol pointed out.

"Only because she was going with Tyler and Hayley's an easy shag."

"Caroline probably didn't want to ruin your night."

"That's ridiculous."

"Well, the point is that she's asked me to go and I'm going. We'll see you there."

**XXX**

"How are you feeling?" Kol asked seriously as they stood off to the side, eating cookies from the food table and staring daggers at Tyler, who was happily dancing with Vicki.

Caroline shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not as upset that we broke up so much as that he only dated me to get to Vicki."

"I get what you mean," Kol said, nodding sagely. "He's a prick."

"True facts. Dance with me?"

Kol wrinkled his nose but took her hand, leading her to the dance floor. She couldn't help but notice Klaus and Hayley dancing on the other side of the room, a forced smile on his face. "He would have gone with you if you'd asked," Kol said abruptly.

"I know," Caroline said, suddenly feeling irritable. "Katherine said the same thing. Why do you guys keep pointing that out?"

Kol shrugged. "Because you're clearly dancing around each other with ooey-gooey feelings and it's frustrating to watch."

Well, trust Kol to be blunt.

"We are not," Caroline huffed, suddenly not feeling much like dancing and wandering back to the side of the room, Kol following her.

"You are, too," Kol sang.

"What are we talking about?" Katherine asked abruptly from behind Caroline, making her squeak in surprise.

"How Nik and Caroline clearly have feelings for each other but are both too chicken to do anything."

"Kol, we're friends."

Katherine scoffed. "Oh, please. Spare me."

"No, seriously."

"Kol?"

The three of them turned to see Davina Claire, who was quite pretty but slipped under most of the boys' radars because she was so quiet. "Would you-would you like to dance with me?"

Kol looked rather baffled, and Davina blushed lightly. "Sorry, I shouldn't–"

"Sure," he interrupted, smiling slightly.

"They'd be cute," Caroline remarked absently.

"Yeah, whatever. I need to use the bathroom."

Caroline rolled her eyes but allowed Katherine to drag her away.

"So, question."

"Yeah?"

"Have you two ever...um, _you know_?"

"Um, what?"

"You and Klaus. Have you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Caroline said, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, come on, you _know_. Have you?"

"Oh my god, Katherine, seriously?"

"That wasn't exactly a yes _or _a no," Katherine half-sang.

"We are _friends_."

"I was just saying…" Katherine said, putting her hands up in surrender at Caroline's death glare.

"Well, stop _saying_."

"Sorry…"

Katherine swiped her eyeliner back on and Caroline freshened her lip gloss before they walked out, and Caroline paused, throwing an arm out to stop Katherine moving when they heard the nasally voice of Vicki Donovan echoing down the hall.

"Yeah, I know, right? She's a total bore. Anyway, we hooked up like, two months ago, and I was like, 'but aren't you dating Caroline?', and he said that he was worried that she'd get clingy if they broke up. Apparently she's kind of neurotic or whatever. _Anyway, _so he finally got her claws off and now we can be open, you know?"

Caroline felt her eyes fill with hot tears, and she wanted the floor to swallow her. "You haven't been clingy a day in your life, and I know clingy. Tatia is the Queen of Clingville," Katherine said under her breath before squeezing Caroline's hand and marching down the hall.

"Katherine, where are you–"

"You are a _bitch_. You can't just go around spreading completely false rumors about my best friend, okay?" Caroline heard Katherine growl.

She sniffled as she heard Katherine continue to read Vicki the riot act, but turned to go back to the dance. She needed to grab her purse from Kol and leave. Now.

She ran into Klaus on the way, who was clearly trying to shake off Hayley, and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Caroline. What's going on?"

"Tyler cheated on me and told Vicki that I was clingy and neurotic," she summed up.

Hayley looked like she wanted to say something, but she thankfully kept her mouth shut, and Klaus pulled Caroline into a hug. "Tyler's a prick. Let's get you home, all right? Hayley, could you do me a favor and get Caroline's purse from Kol?"

Caroline resisted snorting through her tears. _Hayley the Bitch: At last she can fetch._

He gave her his blazer and grabbed her hand, leading her to the front doors of the school, and when Hayley arrived with Caroline's purse, Caroline drew up the manners to thank her politely.

Before they left, Hayley spoke quietly. "Tyler's a dick, Caroline. You could do a million times better."

"Thanks," Caroline said, a bit bewildered by Hayley's kindness.

Hayley gave her a weak smile, shrugging and nodding at Klaus who looked just as baffled.

**XXX**

"Are you sure your Mum's not going to be home tonight?"

"No, this is a trap," Caroline said sarcastically, rooting through the cupboard for the bottle of bourbon that Giuseppe Salvatore had given her mother as a Christmas present.

Klaus sighed, flopping down next to her on the couch and accepting the glass she handed to him, taking a sip of the alcohol, feeling the warmth spread through his body. "Sorry, love."

She sighed. "She'll be too busy busting the alcohol-filled post-Homecoming party to bust us for stealing out of the liquor cabinet in the privacy of my own home."

"Right."

Caroline poured herself a much larger glass of bourbon than Klaus and chugged it, making him wince. "Caroline, maybe you should slow down."

He put his hands up in surrender at her glare, but got up to get her a glass of water, making her drink it before letting her pour another glass of bourbon, which she did, sulking.

Thy settled down to watch a movie, and halfway through she drained her third glass and abruptly spoke.

"I just want to forget."

"Alcohol isn't really the world's number one coping mechanism," he said, pouring the rest of the bottle into his glass and resting the empty bottle on the coffee table. He hadn't drunk more than half a glass and wasn't feeling the slightest bit tipsy, but Caroline didn't drink much, and she was a lightweight. He was trying to keep her from getting completely wasted.

He may or may not have been planning to pour the rest of his glass down the drain in the kitchen sink.

She snorted. "Easy for you to say. You don't need to cope with anything."

He shrugged. "If you say so."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, her words already slightly slurred.

"I don't like seeing you upset," he said honestly.

She leaned against him. "I know. You're my best friend, Nik."

"And you're mine."

She took a deep breath. "Have you ever thought about being more than friends?"

He froze. She was drunk. She didn't know what she was saying.

_Drunken words are sober thoughts._

"Sometimes," he admitted quietly.

"Me too," she said.

She turned to him, reaching out to clumsily stroke his cheek.

His heart was beating fast, and he leaned into her touch, trying to resist from touching her.

"Really?" he asked, his voice slightly choked.

She nodded before her lips crashed onto his in a rather sloppy kiss. He froze for a moment before his hands automatically landed on her hips, squeezing her arse under her dress as he pulled her to him, his cock stirring against the rough fabric of his dress pants. She moaned, rolling her hips against him, and he felt himself snap out of the Caroline-induced haze.

What if she woke up the next morning and realized she hadn't meant it? She'd be mortified and their friendship would be ruined.

"Caroline," he said gently. "You're drunk."

"I know."

He huffed. Of course she did. He realized that she had snuggled up against him and was watching the movie again, and he felt thrown by her sudden change of attitude. Before he had time to process her actions, he realized that she was asleep.

He sighed and picked her up, cradling her against his chest, and brought her to her room, tucking her into her bed still in her dress.

A part of him hoped that she'd forget what happened the next morning. What if she remembered how he'd responded? He had kissed her back, practically groping her. He walked the few blocks home and collapsed into bed, feeling incredibly guilty at how the second he imagined Caroline in her dress; his dick was hard and throbbing against his trousers.

He undressed, trying to distract himself with something-_anything_-but he couldn't shake the image of Caroline in her short dress with her body pressed against his on the couch.

He decided on a cold shower, unable to stomach jerking off to the idea of taking advantage of her, and when he finally fell into bed, he tossed and turned for an hour before falling into an uneasy sleep.

**XXX**

The first thing she realized when she woke up the next morning was that her head was _killing _her. The next was that she'd kissed Klaus.

She. Kissed. Klaus.

And she'd liked it (and so had he, judging by the way his cock had been hard against her thigh and his lips had moved against her as he gripped her ass under her dress). She felt a stab of arousal just thinking about it, and that made her want the floor to swallow her.

She had been drunk. Really, _really _drunk. She could probably pull off not remembering it, and hopefully he'd buy it. Then the ball would be in his court, and hopefully he'd make his move, but she wasn't going to embarrass herself.

She pulled out her phone, and found that Klaus had texted her.

_How are you feeling?_

She grimaced. _Like my head's about to split open._

_Sorry, love. I did try to force-feed you water._

_This is not a good time for 'I-told-you-so's._

She bit her lip, trying to decide how best to pass off the whole forgetting-the-kiss thing.

_What happened last night?_

There was a good three minutes before he responded.

_You fell asleep halfway through the movie, so I brought you up to bed._

She sighed. Okay, so he wasn't going to push it. She was almost disappointed.

_Thanks._

_Always, love._

_I think I'm going to stay in today._

_Understandable. Is there anything I can do?_

_Idk. Probably not._

_Sleep well_, was his simple response, and she padded down to the kitchen and took a few tablets of ibuprofen before changing out of her homecoming dress into a large t-shirt and falling back into bed, thanking every deity that it was Saturday.

She woke up around lunchtime and made herself a sandwich before watching some Netflix on her laptop with the brightness on low and turning over to bury her face in her pillow. She heard her phone vibrate and saw a text from Klaus.

_Feeling better?_

_Sort of._

_Good._

He didn't text again, and she felt her heart warm that he'd wanted to check on her (though she really should have expected it). The text made her think of how it had felt to kiss him, and she felt her walls clench at the thought.

She slid off the boy shorts she'd been sleeping in and let her hand wander down to the apex of her thighs, her slit already wet with arousal. She let her eyelids flutter shut as she spread her legs, circling her center with a fingertip before pushing it in slowly, moaning softly.

_She remembered how Klaus had looked in his button up shirt and dress pants, his arm around her on the couch as she snuggled into him. In her mind, her lips were on his and he pulled her on top of him, this time moving his hands between her legs after squeezing her ass._

_He hooked a finger around the string of her thong, tugging the fabric down to push a finger into her tight, wet heat, quickly adding another, her dress bunched up around her hips as he ground his hard cock against her core._

She circled her clit with her finger, grinding against her own hand, wishing that it was Klaus who was pleasuring her. She wanted to feel filled by his fingers as her curled them into her walls. She wanted him to fuck her hard with his cock, gripping her hips and groaning her name.

_He slid her thong all the way down her legs and off, letting it drop to the floor, and she undid his belt and the fastening of his trousers, pushing them down with his boxers and freeing his hard cock, stroking it a few times. He flipped them over on the couch-actually, fuck the couch, they were on the bed, it was her goddamn fantasy and she could do what she wanted-and he pinned her wrists above her head, biting her neck, pressing the head of his cock into her entrance._

_She arched her back, encouraging him, and shoved his pants and boxers down so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. He began to move, thrusting his hips against her…_

She fingerfucked herself furiously, rolling her hips against her fingers and rubbing her clit with her other hand, panting heavily. She came soon after, coating her fingers with her juices, and she moaned his name before withdrawing her hands and lying spread-eagle on the mattress, hating how much she wanted him, and not knowing that at that very moment, Klaus had given in and was stroking himself thinking of gripping her thighs and spreading them wide, fucking her against the couch.

**XXX**

It had been a week since The Kiss, and Caroline had finally caved when Katherine was over at her house.

"I got drunk and kissed Klaus and he thinks I forgot," she said in a rush.

Katherine blinked. "What?"

Caroline repeated herself, and Katherine's jaw dropped. "Wow. Wait, wow. Really?"

"Would I make something like this up?"

"No, I guess not. Especially after that rather vehement denial-phase you were in just last week."

"Shut up," Caroline mumbled, running her hand through her hair.

"So?"

"What?"

"Spill the beans. How was it?"

"Katherine…"

"Come on. You've wanted to kiss him for_ever_, don't even try to deny it."

"Oh my god, Katherine I'm not talking about this."

"Oh, you so are."

Caroline sighed, burying her face in her hands. "Okay, fine, fine. It was really good. Like, better than good."

Katherine raised an eyebrow.

"I kissed him and he kind of...grabbed me and pulled me down, and he was...you know..._hard _down there."

Katherine burst into giggles. "'Hard down there'? Really?"

"Shut up," Caroline said, feeling a flush take over her cheeks.

"But you lost your v-card to Tyler like, two months ago."

Caroline sighed, feeling her stomach clench at the thought. Had he already been cheating on her by then?

"Yeah. It was...weird. I don't know. He liked it, but I totally can do better by myself."

Katherine snorted. "So?"

"So what?"

"Are you guys, like, dating now? You and Klaus?"

Caroline shook her head frantically. "No, no. As I said, he thought I forgot."

Katherine gave her a pitying look. "Well, if he reacted like you said he did…"

"I told you, I'm not making it up."

"Then tell him."

Caroline took a deep breath. "But what if–"

"Shut up. He clearly likes you. Get over yourself."

Caroline gave her friend her best death glare, but Katherine seemed unaffected. "Just go over tomorrow and tell him. And wear nice underwear."

"_Katherine_."

"What? It's good to be prepared."

"What if it goes wrong?"

"Then you guys will get through it. I don't think you having a crush on him is a friendship-breaking issue."

"Fine. Fine, I'll do it. But you can't tell anyone until I tell you how it went."

Katherine just gave her a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one picks up the next day ;) Leave me reviews and tell me how I did :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	6. Caroline's Confession

**A/N: Thank you so much for the awesome response to this story! You guys are great :D  
This chapter was pretty easy to write because a good half of it is the edited version of the second one-shot in the original two-shot series. If you read the original, this one's a bit different, so just keep that in mind :)**  
**It's also the chapter that a lot of you have been waiting for ;)  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

She took extra care with her appearance that morning, not truly knowing why. Klaus had seen her dressed every way possible, and, if he did like her, he wouldn't like her any more or less based on what she was wearing.

Regardless, it made her feel better, like putting on armor (because what if he didn't like her and she embarrassed herself horribly? Not that any amount of nice clothing and carefully applied eyeliner could change how absolutely shitty that would feel). She stood in her room in a towel for at least twenty minutes trying to choose between two bras, deciding that trying to match them to her underwear wasn't going to help anything when she didn't have any matching sets in the first place (Tyler hadn't particularly cared what her underwear looked like as long as it was easy to take off-the douchebag, and that was only three times).

She'd texted Katherine for advice, disregarded her advice, changed her mind, and admitted to herself when she inspected her body in the mirror that Katherine knew what she was talking about (though Caroline honestly didn't want to know how).

After deliberating between three different tops, she grabbed her favorite denim shorts that made her ass look good and the first pair of matching shoes that she saw (it was a shoes-off house anyway, so that didn't matter), and turned in the mirror one final time.

Caroline nodded to herself, deciding that procrastinating anymore would just make her nerves worse, and took a deep breath as she grabbed her purse, preparing to leave for the Mikaelson household. She mentally recited her speech again in her head.

_I know that I've been acting kind of off lately, and I want to tell you why. You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I'm pretty sure that now I'm in love with you._

Simple enough, right?

She determinedly walked out of the house, her wedges slapping against the pavement. It was mid-October, but still hot and slightly humid, and she felt the thick air press around her. She suddenly felt stifled and hot, and she wanted nothing but to avoid the conversation that was coming, but she shook it off. She was going to do this. She _could_ do this. She arrived at the front door, took another Zen breath, and entered, kicking her shoes off, and Kol looked up from the couch in front of the television in the living room.

"Hello, Darling."

"Hey, Kol. Is Nik around?"

"Basement."

She thanked him before padding barefoot to the basement door, taking a last yoga breath before opening it.

**XXX**

"Nik," Caroline called from the door, sticking her head in. "Can I come in?"

"Always," he said, not even turning to see her as he carefully moved his brush down in small strokes, coating the area of the canvas with a light blue.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Interpretive dance," he said shortly.

She gave a long-suffering sigh, and he smiled to himself at the sound. He was thankful that she was so used to how irritable he could sound while he was concentrating without meaning to be, and that she wasn't particularly bothered by it. "Do you mind if I hang out here for awhile? My mom is–"

"Whatever you want, love."

He didn't have to look at her to know that she was smiling brightly at him, but he did anyway, just to see it. She plopped down on the couch planting the soles of her feet on the armrest, as she was wont to do, wriggling her cherry-colored toes against the fabric. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a textbook and her notebook. She began to read and take notes silently, and he kept having to redirect himself back to his painting to avoid staring at her.

He could tell that she was nervous about something, and it was making_ him_ nervous.

This went on for about fifteen minutes before she abruptly dropped her book. "Nik?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I talk you?"

He frowned, putting his paintbrush down and re-capping his paint jars. "Of course, love."

He turned around and found her standing in front of him, and she slid her teeth over her lip and took a deep breath. "So, the other night...After homecoming…"

He raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. "Yes?" he finally asked when it became clear that she might lose her nerve.

She sighed. "When I got drunk...I remember."

"Oh," he said, having not expected her to admit it. He knew that she'd remembered (there was no way that she'd been drunk enough not to), but he hadn't been planning on bringing it up. Now though, his heart was pounding in his chest and he _hoped _that the conversation was going to go the way he wanted it because if she left now...

"I like you. Like, I really, _really _like you," she said in a rush, snapping her mouth shut as soon as she'd finished the sentence.

He suddenly wasn't quite sure how breathing was supposed to work. He opened his mouth and shut it again. After a few seconds, she went beet red. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't have–"

He cupped her cheek, the pad of his thumb sweeping across her cheekbone, leaving a streak of sunny yellow paint. "I really, _really _like you too," he said quietly, letting a dimpled grin overtake his face.

Her smile was the sun, and he bent down slowly to brush his lips against hers, running his hands down her sides to her hips, leaving streaks of paint on her thin cotton t-shirt. Her fingers wound into the fabric of his henley, and he wasn't quite sure when he had been thrown into an alternate universe where Caroline had decided that she liked him like _that_, but he never wanted to leave.

Ever.

She pressed herself against him, her soft curves heaven against the hard angles of his body, and she released the fabric of his shirt to wind her arms around his neck and shoulders. He could feel himself getting hard and started to pull away, but she jerked him back to her, kissing him more forcefully.

"It's not like I'm suddenly discovering that you have a dick by you getting hard for me, Nik," she mumbled against his jaw, where she had been dropping light kisses, her lips pulled into a slight smirk.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her characteristic Caroline frank-ness and groaned instead as she ran her teeth down his jawline. He was hard against her upper thigh, trying desperately not to rub against her, instead threading his thumbs through the loops of her denim shorts, pulling her even closer so that he could feel every inch of her against him.

He kissed her again before nipping and licking his way to her ear, making her moan, his teeth attaching to her earlobe, tugging it lightly.

Her hands were creeping under his shirt, her fingertips running up and down his chest and stomach, before she tugged lightly at the hemline of it. He pulled back and tugged it off, throwing it on the floor next to them, his eyes going wide as she peeled off her t-shirt, leaving her in a sheer lace bra, showing her pebbled nipples through the fabric. "I wanted to be prepared," she said, smiling slightly as she practically preened under his gaze.

His thumbs were back in the loops of her shorts immediately as his lips attacked her neck and shoulders, and her hands went to undo his belt, pushing down his jeans and palming his hard cock through his boxers, making him drop his head against her shoulder and groan.

"Fuck, Caroline."

He bucked into her hand, and caught her smirking lips again in a passionate kiss, reaching down to undo the button of her shorts, tugging them down her legs, and she kicked them off. He set his palms back on her hips, tugging lightly at the hemline of her thong and dropping kisses on her neck.

"Did you lock the basement door?" he mumbled in her ear.

She hummed, nodding, and pushed his shoulders down slightly. He sat down on the floor, pulling her down to tumble on top of him, grinning as she pushed him on his back and straddled him. She rolled her hips against the bulge in his boxers and he groaned, running his palms down to grip her arse.

Caroline fucking Forbes was straddling him in lacy underwear, her breasts spilling out of her delicate bra, her blonde curls falling around her face, and her firm arse cupped in his palms, and it was just about the most erotic thing he'd ever seen, including all the fantasies he'd ever conjured about her in his bedroom at night. Nothing could compare to the living, breathing vision on top of him.

The rug was comfortable enough that he didn't mind the concrete floor underneath in the least (although, really, he doubted it would be possible to 'mind' Caroline on top of him with _that_ look in her eye even if they were on a bed of nails).

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his voice embarrassingly breathless, still slightly stunned that she'd initiated anything at all.

"Yeah," she said quietly, rolling her hips again, making him groan. "I do."

"Are you...err-Are you, on anything, love?"

She smirked. "Pill. Don't worry."

He let his fingers bury themselves in her hair, pulling her lips down to meet his in answer, while the other squeezed her arse towards him so that he could rub his length against her covered pussy. He flipped them over, groaning as she raked her nails down her back, and pulled his boxers off, her thong following right behind it. He kissed her again, his tongue slipping into her mouth as he reached down to drag a finger along her slit. He and Hayley had had casual sex a few times (she'd grown out of her clingy phase the year before) and he knew how to pleasure a girl. All he wanted was for Caroline to come around his fingers, his cock, his _anything_. He wanted to see what her face looked like as she came, what it sounded like when her musical voice shouted his name.

She moaned, spreading her legs, giving him access to her wet center, and he pushed a finger into her, grinning at the answering roll of her hips. He added another and pumped them in and out, hooking them slightly to brush against her g-spot, and she writhed underneath him, swearing under her breath and coming around his fingers.

"I need you, Nik," she breathed as she came down from her high.

He positioned his hard cock at her entrance. "Are you sure?" he asked again, fighting down a smile at her answering glare and pushing into her, both of them groaning as he entered her, and he fought the urge to pull back and slam into her again.

She was so hot and tight and fucking _soaking_wet around him, and her eyelids fluttered, and the dried paint across her cheek was cracking as she smiled at him.

"Move, Nik," she ordered in a hoarse whisper, bringing her hips up to meet his as he began to thrust into her.

She moaned, her head tipping back against the carpet, and her ankles hooked around his waist, trying to pull him in deeper. The sound of skin slapping against skin coupled with her almost musical pants and moans of his name, and the feeling of her tight around him, her walls fluttering as she prepared to come again make him move faster. He ran his thumbs along her covered nipples, rubbing the rough lace against them, causing her to moan.

"Harder. I'm going to come again, Nik."

He moved faster, his cock slamming into her, and she gasped out his name as she clenched around him. He continued to thrust into her until he found his own release, spilling inside her, and nuzzling into her neck as he collapsed on top of her.

They both caught their breath before he rolled off of her, grabbing his boxers and pulling them on. She just grinned happily at him, pulling herself up and reaching for her thong and shorts, pulling them on quickly, and grabbing his henley out of his hand before he could pull it over his head.

"You got paint all over my shirt."

"You didn't even look at it," he argued.

The look she gave him made him grin sheepishly. "Sorry, love," he added.

"Worth it," she said simply, her lips twitching. "But that was your one free pass."

He laughed and laid back down again, and she snuggled against him, resting her head on his naked chest, her breathing still a bit uneven.

"It sucks that our first kiss was when I was drunk," she grumbled.

"No it wasn't."

"You don't have to keep pretending that I didn't kiss you. I told you that I remember it."

She whacked his chest lightly when he laughed, clearly fighting down a smile. "No, seriously."

"That wasn't our first kiss. Our first kiss was when we were seven and Luke Parker dared you to kiss me, and you did."

"Oh, I totally forgot about that," Caroline said, flushing slightly.

"I didn't. It was the best moment of my life," he teased, catching her wrist before she could whack him again and pulling her to him, kissing her softly. She smiled against his mouth, placing her palms on his chest when he released her wrists to sneak the tips of his fingers under the hem of her shorts.

"So...Are we dating now?"

He snorted. "I'm rather insulted that you have to ask."

She gave him a classic Caroline eye roll, burying her nose in his neck, her light exhales on his skin making his cock twitch. "I was just checking."

"Well, I vote yes," he said, keeping his voice deathly serious and chuckling as she bit him lightly, before groaning softly as she ran her tongue over the scratch made by her teeth. "Do you disagree?" he added, his voice husky.

"No, I'm good with that."

He laughed. "I'm glad to hear it."

She kissed his jaw again before taking his lower lip between her teeth and biting it softly (she seemed to be fond of biting, and he wasn't complaining), letting him squeeze the backs of her thighs while he thrusted his tongue in her mouth, making her moan. She pulled back and he smiled at her flushed face and puffy lips before pushing her lightly so that he could sit up, offering her a hand to pull her to the couch with him. Instead of resting her feet in his lap, she just scooted so that she was cuddled against his chest, neatly slotting her arse between his thighs. They sat there for a while in a comfortable silence before bickering light-heartedly about what movie to see on Saturday (Caroline won, as she did 90% of the time).

Caroline's phone buzzed about twenty minutes later, and she lent over to pull it out of her purse, her arse grinding against his cock, and he could feel himself slowly hardening again. He groaned, making her grin, and she opened the text, smirking before typing back.

"It was Kat," she said without him needing to ask. "She wanted to know how it went."

"Oh, this was planned?"

She shrugged a bit shyly. "Well, I was nervous."

"Why?" he asked, honestly confused.

"I was worried that you didn't like me."  
He snorted rather inelegantly. "I've liked you since we were twelve, at the _latest_. I only admitted it to myself the first day of high school, but it's been quite awhile."

"Even before Tatia?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Yes. Even before Tatia."

"Good to know, _baby_."

"Good lord. You are never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Nope," she said, a wicked smile on her face before shrieking as he pinned her down on the couch, her arms above her head with one hand while the other trailed his fingers lightly down her stomach, making her squirm as he tickled her. "Nik, stop, seriously."

He took his hands away and lightly cupped her cheeks, pressing his lips to hers instead.

As she moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding herself against him while draped in his shirt, he decided that could most _definitely _get used to this.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought :)**  
**I also just want to say that there has been some concern over Caroline and Klaus losing their virginity to people other than each other. That's the way life works. Most people don't marry and live happily ever after with the people they had their first times with. If you don't like the fact that Caroline and Klaus have had sex with other people before each other, then this fic is not for you. If you want more info/reasoning for my decision, feel free to PM me on here or on tumblr, and I'll answer your questions as best I can.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	7. Sweetheart

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. You guys are amazinggg! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)  
****-Angie**

* * *

"I knew it!" Kol said immediately when he saw Klaus and Caroline with their hands linked walk through the basement door.

"Shut up, Kol."

"Who caved first? Was it you, Nik? _Please _say it was you. I have a lunch at the grill riding on this, please say you didn't let me down."

Caroline and Klaus looked at each other. "I don't know about _caved_," Caroline said slowly, "But I said it first, if that actually matters."

"Fuck. Just pretend it was him, all right? Katherine always orders the most expensive possible thing on the menu."

"You bet on whether we would get together?"

"Not _whether_ you would get together. We bet on who would initiate," Kol said petulantly. "You let me down, Nik. What happened to men making the first move?"

Caroline huffed. "Can we _please _not talk about your unreasonable expectation that Nik and I adhere to the standards of the socially constructed patriarchal aspects of society?"

Kol blinked. "What?"

"Your views are outdated and sexist," Klaus translated, giving Caroline an amused look.

She squeezed his hand and gave him a brilliant smile, and then glared at Kol when he made an exaggerated gagging sound. "Oh, are you two going to be absolutely sickening all the time, now?"

"If we are, will you leave us alone?"

"Now, Nik, why would I do that? I doubt you could be that bad."

"I'll take that as a challenge," Klaus said, turning to Caroline to kiss her softly.

The kiss was slow and languid, his lips and tongue skating over hers with light brushes and simple touches, and they only pulled back when Kol pretended to dry heave next to them.

"Oh, get over yourself, Kol."

"I should never have encouraged you," his brother mumbled, and Klaus snorted.

"We would have gotten our acts together sooner or later, I'm sure."

Caroline nodded solemnly next to him, making him grin.

"Yes, but the point is that I contributed to this...thing...and now you're going to make my teeth crack from your cotton candy sparkle Kool-Aid that both of you are drinking."

"Well, maybe you should leave, then," Klaus suggested.

"But I like this chair. I was comfortable. Can't you be disgusting together outside, or something?"

He had a bad feeling when Caroline turned to look at him, a saccharine smile on her face, her voice dropping in tone. "Want to take a walk, baby?"

He gave her an exasperated look, though he did have to restrain a smile at Kol's overdramatic reenactment of death-by-choking. As they walked outside, he couldn't help but think that the revolting petname was almost pleasant falling from her lips.

**XXX**

He slid an arm around her waist as they walked, and she couldn't stop smiling. His hand touching her hip just made it all the more real, and she hadn't let herself get her hopes up in case this didn't happen.

But it was.

He cleared his throat, and she looked up at him, the smile still bright on her face. "Would you like to go to the Halloween dance with me?"

"I forgot about that," she said. "Yes."

"Excellent."

They walked in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "D'you remember last year?"

"When I dressed as Little Red Riding Hood? Of course," Caroline said, trying to keep her voice innocent. "Why?"

His answering smirk showed that he didn't believe her oblivious act for a second. "You did it on purpose."

"Yeah," she admitted, seeing no point in denying it.

He moved his arm off of her waist to grab her hand, swinging it in his. "I wanted you so badly," he said, his voice deceptively nonchalant.

"Really?" she asked, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as she remembered how he'd felt, her soft body pressed against his while he was hard against her thigh.

"Yes. I went home early."

"I remember."

"And I imagined flipping up your skirt and fucking you from behind against my bedroom wall," he continued, his voice completely casual. She felt her core clench, and she let out a soft whoosh of breath.

"Maybe we can make that happen this year."

He laughed quietly.

"No, really," she insisted. "You can be my big bad wolf."

She squeezed his hand, and he scoffed, though he returned the gesture. "Please don't tell me you're going to make me coordinate with you."

"I wouldn't dare," she said, fighting down a giggle at the visual of Klaus with a wolf mask or something equally ridiculous. "Especially since that's not my costume this year, and a suit for you would be completely appropriate, which I know you have."

She's already gone shopping with Kat, and she was excited. Halloween was one of her favorite holidays, mostly because of the candy and the excuse to dress up as someone else for a day (she was a theatre person, so sue her), but she had enjoyed making Klaus squirm the year before immensely.

"What are you going to be?"

"Well that would ruin the surprise wouldn't it?"

He rolled his eyes and huffed dramatically (she often wondered if she was _actually _the theatre person in this friend-_relationship_, she realized excitedly, because he liked to be the center of attention more often than not). "If that's what you want, love."

"It is. Question-"

"Answer," he drawled, grinning at her unimpressed glare.

"How mad would you be if I called you 'baby' just to piss off Tatia?"

"Isn't that a bit petty?" he asked slowly, clearly choosing his words carefully.

"Yep," she said cheerfully.

"Don't you think you're above that? It's been two years."

"Nope."

He snorted. "Well, you're free to do whatever you'd like. I can't promise I'll answer to it, and there will probably be a lot of eye rolling and scoffing."

"I wouldn't expect any less, baby."

The expected eyeroll and scoff that the statement earned her made her smirk.

"You do realize that the thing she _actually_ hated was that I didn't allow her to call me Nik, right?"

"But I call you that anyway," Caroline said cheerfully.

He shrugged. "True enough, I suppose."

**XXX**

Katherine screamed.

Caroline dropped Klaus's hand and covered her ears, her eyes scrunched tight.

Klaus rolled his eyes, settling his arm around her waist instead.

Everyone in the hallway paused to see what the noise was all about before continuing about their day as normal.

"You knew this was coming. I texted you," Caroline reminded her friend as Katherine caught her breath, wearing biggest smug grin that Caroline had ever seen.

"It's different than seeing it."

"Of course it is," Klaus mumbled sarcastically, thoroughly unimpressed with Katherine's dramatics, as usual.

"Kol owes me food!" she squealed excitedly.

"So we've heard."

"Shut up, Klaus. You're just jealous that you won't get free food."

"I don't need free food. I can pay for it," Klaus said exasperatedly. "And so can you."

"Too bad for Kol," Katherine said with an elegant shrug of her shoulders. "Anyway, time for History. C'mon, Care."

Caroline gave Klaus an apologetic look and a kiss on the cheek, making Katherine squeal excitedly again, before following her friend.

After school was over, she hugged Katherine goodbye while Elena pulled the car around, and when Klaus arrived to walk her home, Tatia had just came from the other direction. "Ready to go, baby?" Caroline asked, giving him a teasing grin.

"Very classy, Caroline," Tatia said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, almost as classy as trying to seduce Nik's older brother the week after he broke up with you."

Tatia flushed. "That was just a rumor."

"Except that I saw it with my own eyes," Caroline scoffed. "Anyway, we have to go."

She grabbed Klaus's hand, tugging him away. "What a bitch."

"Well, that was rather rude, love," Klaus said slowly.

"It's also rude to be a bitch."

He snorted. "So what's this about Tatia and Finn?"

"Elijah, actually. I can't believe you didn't know."

"As you're aware, I did do my best to avoid her as much as possible," he said dryly.

"That you did. Well, he shut her down rather neatly. To be honest, I thought he was pretty nice about it."

"Were you there?"

"With Kat and Bonnie, yeah."

He hummed. "Can we stop talking about Tatia? It's boring."

Caroline just laughed.

**XXX**

"You look…" Klaus trailed off, his eyes raking up and down her body, making her blush slightly.

He wasn't sure it was possible for her to look anything less than beautiful, no matter what she was wearing. The blue bodice hugged her body tightly in all the right places, and the skirt was, again, very, _very_ short, showing off her long toned legs.

"I look?" she prompted, smirking a bit.

"Stunning," he settled for.

She smiled. "Thanks. You look pretty good too."

She held out a crown, looking at him expectantly.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

She pouted.

"No."

"Nik…"

"No."

"C'mon. Don't you want to be 'Your Majesty'?" she asked, the crown dangling off her wrist as she made air quotes.

"If I'm the Prince I would be 'Your Royal Highness' actually," he said teasingly. "Your Majesty is the King," he teased, preferring not to think about the way the words rolled off her tongue because good _lord _she'd tease him for ages if she got even a _hint _of his royalty fetish.

Though, really, there were worse things.

She scoffed. "Whatever. Put on the damn crown."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She raised an eyebrow, but he just smiled, plucking the crown out of her hands and setting it on his head. "So, why Cinderella?" he asked.

She shrugged. "She's blonde and I liked the sexy version of her dress better than Aurora's."

He nodded. "Well, you look incredible, sweetheart."

"Sweetheart?" she asked, her lips twitching.

He froze. It had felt so natural when it rolled off his tongue, and he quickly attempted to cover his slip with, "Well, if you're going to insist on calling me 'baby' then I should have an equally–-"

"I like it," she said decisively, making him grin. "And, for the record, it was just that one time. Don't worry, I'm not going to go around calling you that."

He let out a breath of relief.

"Well, unless we're alone and I feel like giving you shit for it," she added teasingly as an after thought.

"Thank you," he said, honestly a bit relieved.

"Yep. Now c'mon _your highness_, you have to dance with me," she said, gesturing to the gym doors they'd finally reached.

He tried to ignore the twitch of his cock in his pants at the address and took a deep breath, opening the door for her. "After you, sweetheart."

**XXX**

"Ready to head home, sweetheart?"

"Sure. Whenever you are."

He grabbed her hand and they walked back to his car, newly inherited from Finn. "You're not going to try to have sex with me in your car, are you?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, but judging by your use of the word 'try' I'm going to assume that I shouldn't change my mind."

"You'd be right."

He gave her a dimpled smile, and she nudged him with her elbow. He opened the door for her, and she gave him an amused look as she slid in, smoothing her skirt under her as she went so that it wouldn't ride up.

"All right, your royal highness. Drive me home," she teased as soon as he slid into the driver's seat, throwing the crown into the back and buckling his seatbelt.

He swallowed, trying to ignore his cock twitch in his trousers.

"Are you all right?"

He restrained a wince. She was too observant. "Yes, of course."

"You sure?"

"Positive, sweetheart."

"If you say so," she said.

He dropped her off, smiling as she kissed him quickly before sliding out of the car. The novelty hadn't quite worn off, and being able to satisfy the urge to take her hand in his or lay an arm over her shoulder was so freeing.

That also, of course, meant that she touched him with equal enthusiasm. He found himself craving her after every time they spent even a mere moment together. Both her mind and her body. He needed her.

He waited until she closed the front door behind her before leaving, pulling into the driveway of his house and heading straight to his room, closing the door behind him. He undid his tie and shrugged off his jacket, throwing it on the floor before undressing and pulling on sweatpants (Rebekah barged in a bit too much for him to feel comfortable sleeping in just his boxers). He collapsed into bed, checking his phone one more time to see a text from Caroline.

He unlocked his phone, and his eyes widened.

She was spread out on her bed, her blonde curls artfully tousled, one arm cradling her head while the other held out the phone, her skirt pulled up _just _so that he could get a teasing glimpse of lace beneath.

_My Mom's working, apparently._

His mouth was dry, and his hard cock was tenting the fabric of his sweatpants. Before he could process what was happening, he got another text.

_Are your parents home?_

It was accompanied by a shot that didn't include her head, but involved her on her side, the back of the skirt of her dress flipped up to show the creamy skin of her arse, framed with the lace she'd hinted at earlier, her thumb hooked in the waistband of the thong.

He swore, doing a mental list of where everyone in the family was (Rebekah was staying over with the Petrova triplets, Kol was at Jeremy's for a few more hours or until they passed out, Henrik could sleep through an alien invasion, his parents were both working late) before texting Caroline a simple message.

_Come over._

He let out a calming breath, swinging himself out of bed again to throw the few spare dirty clothes in the hamper and cap a few spare jars of paint (he was trying to be better about not spilling paint all over her, though whether it worked out remained to be seen).

He heard his phone buzz again and picked it up.

_You hard for me?_

_Not supposed to text while driving._

_Good thing I'm not driving._

_You're not coming?_

_Oh, I'll come for you._

He choked on air, and was weighing his response options when he got another text from her.

_On my way. I just had to change._

_Are you not coming in the costume?_

He winced to himself as soon as he hit send, wishing, not for the first time, that phones had an 'unsend' button.

_Why? Does someone have a Cinderella fetish?_

_I have a Caroline fetish,_ he sent back, trying not to roll his eyes at his own cheesiness.

_Does that mean that I shouldn't bother with the Red Riding Hood costume…?_

_You should definitely bother.  
lol. Yes, your highness ;)_

She was going to be the death of him, he was sure.

**XXX**

"Nik!" Caroline called as she barged into the house, clearly panicking.

He thanked every deity in the universe that his parents were out of town (one of their monthly "bonding" weekends, which none of the siblings had ever investigated any further, as they _knew _how siblings were made, thank you very much) and Henrik slept like the dead.

"What?" he mumbled, sticking his head out of the kitchen, his hair still rumpled. "Do you know what time it is, Caroline?"

"Yes. It's eight forty-six in the morning, and Miss Mystic dance lessons wait for no one, so get moving."

"That's not until eleven."

And Miss Mystic dance lessons could suck his dick, to be perfectly honest. He knew how to dance, and Caroline did as well (most of the children of the founding families learned). The lessons weren't compulsory. It was silly to waste three Saturdays in a row on it.

He voiced this thought to Caroline and immediately regretted it when he saw the look on her face. "Go shower and get dressed, Nik. We need to eat and then practice before we go."

"Why are we practicing for practice?"

"Because the other girls need to know what they're up against. It's an intimidation tactic."

"For fucks sake," Klaus mumbled, rubbing his face with his palms and earning himself a glare from his girlfriend, who immediately went on a long tirade about strategies and things she'd read about pageanting (or whatever the verb was) on the internet.

Klaus privately thought that she'd be an excellent army general, but decided not to voice the observation, as he wasn't fond of being the one on the business end of her wrath.

"Fine. Fine, all right sweetheart. Give me ten minutes, all right?"

"_Thank _you."

He restrained an eyeroll as he made his way upstairs to shower. The things he did for Caroline Forbes...

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed that. As you can tell, we're starting to move a bit more slowly. I don't know how long the story will be or how much time we'll spend on each year, but I think there will probably only be one more of junior year (Miss Mystic). I've always pictured Klaus having a royalty fetish (even in canon!). I feel like it's the sort of thing he'd like. Are you guys on board with that? ;) What did we think of the sort-of sexting? Are we excited for Miss Mystic Falls? Please tell me what you thought of the chapter! :)  
Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	8. Miss Mystic Falls

**A/N: Thank you for your continued support of this story. This chapter has a bit of smut (the scene that was skipped over last chapter in the form of a flashback), so I hope that's okay :P This also has the Miss Mystic competition, and a bit of a look ahead.**  
**Enjoy!**  
**-Angie**

* * *

"Nik," Caroline groaned as he shook her lightly, trying to bring her out of her sleepy state. "What're you doing?"

Caroline had banged on the door at eight that morning, pushing past a bleary-eyed Kol to tell Klaus in no uncertain terms that he was to get himself ready for the pageant while she took a nap, and that he should wake her up at ten, completely ready to go so that he could help her with what she needed.

And, figuring that it would be easier in this particular situation to just do as he was told, that's what he did.

"You told me to wake you up at ten, love."

Her eyes shot open and she sat up so quickly that Klaus barely avoided a broken nose, courtesy of Caroline's forehead. "It's ten o'clock?"

"Yes…?"

"Oh my god, we're late."

He groaned. "Love, you told me to wake you at ten. We're not late. This is when you told me to get you."

"Oh," she said, her breaths slowing infinitesimally from their previously accelerated state.

"The pageant doesn't start until two," he continued. "We don't even have to _be _there for another hour and a half."

Attempting to stave off more panicking, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, rubbing her back lightly before he pulled away. "Deep breaths. You're going to be fine. In fact, I'm positive you'll win."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm not competing for Miss Mystic Falls, and as the only person you have ever lost anything to in your life is me–"

"You are so full of shit," Caroline said, half-laughing, whacking him lightly in the shoulder.

He just gave her a small smile, kissing her quickly on the nose before peppering kisses down her jaw and neck to her collarbone, making her moan.

"Nik…"

"Shhh," he mumbled against her skin. "We have time."

"No we don't, I have to get ready."

He smiled against the skin of her breast, dropping a kiss on her cleavage before pulling the shirt she'd borrowed over her head, leaving her completely bare to him besides her sleep shorts. He attached his lips to one of her nipples, making her arch her back and moan. "Is that really what you want?" he mumbled, nipping the underside of her breast playfully.

"No, but it's what we need to do," she panted.

"I want to try something," he said quietly as he brushed his lips down her abdomen to the waistband of her pajama shorts. She sucked in a breath and he looked up at her to see her watching him, pupils dilated in lust.

"Nik...You don't have to," she said, her breaths shallow.

"I want to," he said, smiling slightly as he ran his finger under the waistband of her shorts, instantly transported back to Halloween, just over four months before, when she'd said very much the same thing to him...

* * *

_He had just gotten Caroline's text that she was walking up the front path when he opened the door to find her on his porch in her tiny dress, sky-high heels, and red cape, a purse thrown over her shoulder. He moved aside to let her in and closed the door behind her, locking it, smirking when she ran her hands up his bare chest to his shoulders. "Hey."_

"_Hello," he said quietly, his voice husky. _

_She shivered, and he gave her a dimpled grin, his hands moving to the backs of her thighs under her short dress. She kissed him, her lips soft and slightly tentative in their movements. "Come up to my room?" he offered, squeezing the creamy flesh of her arse._

_She nodded, following him up the familiar staircase to his bedroom, immediately throwing her purse gently to the side and moving her hands to undo her cape, which floated to the floor._

_She let out a whispered 'oh' of surprise as he grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her flush against him and fusing his lips to hers, devouring her, his tongue plundering her mouth as he let go of her hands to press his palms against the small of her back, keeping her pressed against him._

_She moaned around his tongue, sucking it lightly and threading her fingers through his hair. He pulled away slightly, placing rough kisses against her jaw and neck, letting his teeth scrape across her skin. She moaned loudly, her hands moving from his hair to grip his shoulders. "That feels really good," she gasped out, and she felt him grin against her neck. _

_She pulled him lightly so that his body was pressing hers against the wall, his erection pressing insistently against her inner thigh. He ground himself against her, hiking the skirt of the dress up around her hips and groaning when he realized that she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She moaned and rubbed him through the fabric of his sweatpants before tugging them down, freeing his cock completely and wrapping her hand around it, her thumb ghosting over the tip. He groaned, bucking into her hand. "Fuck, Caroline..."_

_His hands gripped her arse under the flimsy fabric of her skirt, squeezing roughly and making her moan. Her hand was still pumping his cock while the other massaged his balls, and he moved his hands to gently nudge hers away, gripping her wrists and pinning them over her head against the wall with one hand while the other lifted the fabric of her skirt to plunge two fingers into her tight wet pussy. _

_She rolled her hips against his hand as she moaned, her head dropping back against his bedroom wall as she rode his fingers, coming with his name on her lips mere moments later. _

"_Nik," she breathed, her breath catching as he dropped kisses on her neck while his fingers continued to move inside of her._

"_Yes, love?"  
"I want to try something."_

"_All right," he mumbled against her skin, pulling his hands away from her before groaning as she dropped to her knees, licking her lips. She looked a bit nervous (though he couldn't imagine why, as Caroline Forbes on her knees in front of him was probably in the top three most erotic things he'd ever seen, sandwiched between her straddling him on his basement floor and her on his bed with her head thrown back, her face flushed, begging for him). _

"_Did Hayley or Tatia ever go down on you?" she asked, sounding rather clinical, which was his first clue that she was absolutely terrified._

"_Caroline you don't have to–-"_

"_Did they or didn't they?"_

"_They didn't," he said slowly. "But that doesn't mean you have to."_

"_I want to, Nik."_

_He nodded. "Okay."_

_She stroked him a few times, shifting on her knees to get more comfortable before biting her lip and staring at him. He resisted the urge to laugh and she glared up at him._

"_It's not going to bite."_

"_Well, unless you want me to bite you, I'd suggest you let me take my time," she said primly, grinning evilly at him when he hastily schooled his face back to blankness._

"_Whatever you'd like, Sweetheart."_

_She bit her lip before wetting her lips with her tongue and giving the tip of his cock a tentative lick. He groaned, his palms flat against the wall. She looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled before swirling her tongue around the head of his cock before taking him fully in her mouth._

_He swore, his whole body growing taut as he tried not to thrust himself down her throat, and she moaned around him, making him grit his teeth._

"_God, Caroline," he hissed before losing the battle and groaning as she took him further, gagging hard around the tip of him. "Christ…"_

_She moaned around him again, her hand wrapping around the base of him as she sucked, her cheeks hollowing, and he let out a stream of swear words. "I'm close," he panted, his fingers twitching as he tried to resist the urge to grab her hair. _

_She continued to stroke him with her hand and took him more deeply into her mouth, gagging slightly when he hit the back of her throat, which tipped him over the edge. He mumbled a warning and came down her throat. She pulled back, her tongue darting out to wet her lips (one of her tells that she was nervous), and he gave her a brilliant smile. _

"_Was that okay?"_

"_That was perfect," he said, still a bit short of breath, offering her a hand to pull her to her feet. _

"_Can you grab me one of your shirts?" she asked as she fiddled with the laces of her dress, pulling it off._

_He nodded, grabbing one of his henleys from his dresser and handing it to her, his mouth going dry when she pulled on his shirt, the hem ending just below her hips, showing the cheeks of her arse and her still-soaked center when she turned, bending down to grab her cell phone out of her purse._

"_Caroline…" he groaned._

_She stood up slowly, giving him a smug smile before flopping down on his bed like she always had their entire life, her legs flying into the air as she bounced, swinging them onto the bed with her, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her, still wet and ready for him. She patted the mattress beside her, and he climbed in next to her, unable to say why he was so hesitant, but letting her set a timer for an hour (so that she'd have time to walk home before her mother returned) and snuggle against him._

* * *

"Are you sure?" she asked, a bit breathless.

"Yes."

Her eyelids fluttered shut as he began to ease her shorts and panties down her hips over her ankles, dropping them onto the floor and brushing kisses over her calves, nipping the skin playfully. He gently pushed her legs apart and dropped hot, open-mouthed kisses against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, traveling closer to her pussy with every brush of his lips, before she suddenly stiffened. "No. Not now. I have to get ready."

He raised an eyebrow. "Caroline…"

"No. You can do it when I win."

"Very confident," he said teasingly, slowly crawling back on top of her and capturing her lips with his.

She giggled when he pulled away. "Well, I never lose, remember?"

"Unless it's to me," he reminded her, making her roll her eyes.

"No. I let you win."

From the look on her face, he wasn't even sure if she was joking or not.

**XXX**

"Miss Caroline Forbes, and her escort, Niklaus Mikaelson."

Caroline took a deep breath and pasted on a smile, her hand ghosting over the handrail as she slowly descended the stairs, her eyes locking with Klaus's when she got to the bottom. He offered her his hand, a small dimpled smile on his face, and she took it, allowing him to lead her to the courtyard, past the politely clapping crowd.

Elena and Tatia were called, Katherine having refused to participate (to her mother's horror), saying that they would already have two contestants who looked exactly the same and didn't need to add a third, and right on cue, the contestants and their escorts stepped forward to bow. She and Klaus made eye contact, and their hands raised to an inch apart as the danced, their eyes connected as they went through the steps.

The dance was completely mechanical for both of them by that point, and Caroline just let herself get lost in his eyes, which gazed at her so lovingly. She tried not to let the bright smile overtake her face (generally not encouraged), instead settling for a soft quirk of her lips.

Klaus's eyes sparkled as he stared at her, and they continued moving slowly with each other, lost in their own world.

Soon-too soon-the dance portion was over, and they moved to the question and answer portion, which Caroline navigated almost effortlessly, feeling very proud when she'd finished. Once that was over, the girls were all gathered on stage and the mayor got onstage to announce the winner.

"...Our very own Miss Mystic Falls is Caroline Forbes!"

Caroline felt a large, bright smile take over her face as she accepted the sash and crown, and the first thing she did was make eye contact with Klaus, who was off to the side. He gave her a huge, dimpled smile and mouthed, _"I knew you would_."

She restrained an eyeroll and was about to turn back before he very clearly mouthed, "_I owe you_."

She frowned for a moment before realizing what he meant, and glared at him, ignoring his smirk and trying to fight the blush staining her cheeks.

**XXX**

"I registered for the entrance tests today."

"Oh, did you?" Esther asked, turning off the faucet so that she could hear Klaus more clearly.

"Yes. Caroline and I are taking them at the end of this month."

Esther made a humming sound to show that she'd heard, and Klaus remained silent, knowing that the look on his mother's face usually meant that she had something unpleasant to say, but wasn't sure how to phrase it. "I know that you and Caroline are planning on applying to the same colleges, but don't you think it might be better to not limit yourselves?"

"Mum, you know that I'm only going to college because you and Father want me to. I want to do art. I've made that clear for a very long time."

"Right, which is why we think that you should major in some sort of business major so that you can run your own company," Esther said reasonably.

He sighed, putting down his pencil. "Look, I know that you think that it's not realistic for Caroline and I to try to apply to the same places, and we know that too, but we'd just like to keep it in mind. We talked about it, and there are some really excellent art schools in Boston, most of which also have theatre programs. Even if we didn't go to the same school, there are lots of options."

Esther narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you want to limit–"

"I'm not _limiting_ myself by choosing the same city as Caroline, Mother, especially since our intended programs are so close in nature."

"Doesn't Caroline want to be a teacher, though?"

"A Theatre teacher, yes."

"They're cutting arts programs all over the countr–"

"Which is why she'll also be able to teach English," Klaus cut in smoothly.

"Where will you live in Boston?"

"A dormitory, I'd expect. At least for the first year or so."

"Will you get jobs?"

Klaus shrugged. "If we need them. I've been looking at art galleries and museums in need of interns and docents, and I know that Caroline has been looking at tutoring jobs."

"You both have this all planned out, don't you?"

"It's Caroline. What did you expect, exactly?" Klaus pointed, smirking.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! This chapter is the end of their junior year of high school (meaning they have one year left after this chapter until graduation). We'll be continuing after high school is over, though I don't know how far in their life we'll get. I'm planning for this to stay around 12-15 chapters maximum, so we'll see where it goes.  
Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Did you like the awkward-first-time-blowjob smut? How did we feel about the Miss Mystic competition? Klaroline's plans for the future? Any predictions? Let me know!  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	9. Future Plans and Food Projectiles

**A/N: If you've read their things, you'll notice that the second part of this chapter is an adapted version of one of the drabbles. Once this fic became a thing, it was always going to go in :P  
Enjoy!**  
**-Angie**

* * *

"Caroline?"

"What, Kol?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"That is never a good start to a conversation," Caroline said, motioning for him to take a seat on her computer chair while she stretched out on her bed, where she'd been doing homework (it had only been two weeks, and AP History was kicking her _ass_).

"I need you to put a good word in for me to Bonnie."

Caroline blinked, a bit surprised. Klaus had told her the year before that Kol had a bit of a crush on her friend, but she had laughed it off. Kol and Bonnie seemed like such a weird pairing for her. Apparently he'd been right though (and she was not looking forward to telling him so).

"Um…"

"Please?"

Caroline bit her lip. "Fine. I'll talk to her about it, but no promises."

"Thank you so much, Care. You're the best," he said, giving her a huge smile and a hug (which was significant, since Kol "didn't do" hugs).

"Yeah, of course," she said faintly, patting him awkwardly on the back.

He thanked her again and left, leaving Caroline to contemplate what the actual fuck had just happened. She sighed, deciding to bite the bullet sooner rather than later, and pulled out her phone.

_What do you think of Kol Mikaelson?_

She bit her lip as she waited for Bonnie's response.

_Cute but douchey. Why?_

_He likes you. You should give it a chance._

…

_DON'T TRIPLE DOT ME BONNIE BENNETT_

_Fine, but if it goes badly, I blame you._

Caroline smirked.

XXX

"Did you send your applications in, just in case?" Caroline asked quietly, her cheek resting on Klaus's naked chest as they cuddled half-dressed in his bed.

"Yes, love. Last week."

"Good."

They laid there in comfortable silence before Caroline spoke again. "Are you worried about it?"

"About graduating, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"I suppose, but I think that fear of the unknown is normal, don't you?"

Caroline nodded. "I guess I'm just worried about how we're going to manage."

"Don't you have a color-coded plan for that?" he teased.

"Shut up," she mumbled. "But seriously. I know we said that we'd live in the dorms for the first year if you decide to come, but what if you decide you don't want to go to school. Then what?"

"Then I'll get a job and get an apartment."

"You say it like it's easy."

Klaus shrugged. "I can stay with Elijah and Gia for a few months while I save up."

"Have you asked them?" Caroline asked suspiciously.

"Nope," he admitted. "But they won't turn me away."

"How do you know?"

"Because Elijah's Elijah."

It was a fair point, she had to admit.

"We'll make it," he said quietly, squeezing her hip lightly. "We're meant to be, love."

"But what if we're not? What if 'meant to be' isn't even a thing? What if we move away and screw up our friendship and you leave?" she asked, shifting slightly to look at him.

She'd been thinking about it a lot, and she couldn't imagine a life without Klaus in it. It wasn't that she needed him to complete her, or that she felt like it would be worthless to live without him, she just...he'd been in her life for so long that she couldn't even picture a life without him in her head. It was a foreign concept. Klaus had always been there, and he always would be. He _had_ to.

"I won't."

"How do you know?"

Klaus was silent, apparently weighing his words before he spoke. "Well, obviously no one can ever say for sure. However, I will tell you right now that I don't think my life would be very pleasant without you in it, no matter in what capacity. You've always made me want to be my best self, sweetheart. I don't think that will ever change. Whether fate exists or not, whether we're _meant to be _or not, I love you, and I always will."

"That was very romantic of you," she said, her voice only half-teasing.

"It probably wouldn't have sounded even half as good if the accent wasn't helping," he teased, trying to change the subject.

She let him, rolling her eyes, but filing his discomfort with the subject away to think about later.

Right now, all that mattered was that she loved him and he loved her. It would be fine.

XXX

"Please?"

"Caroline, we sat with them yesterday."

"But I want to sit with them today, too. I need to talk to Bekah."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I live with half of the people at that table, and I don't want to spend my entire lunch hour with them?"

She laced her fingers through his, swinging their hands as they walked. "I know," she said, sighing. "I'm sorry. I just feel like I never get to see them since I'm taking all AP classes this year."

"You see Bonnie in all of them," he reminded her.

_And me_, he added in his head.

"Well yeah, but not Bekah, Kol, or Stefan."

"I know, but you could always come for dinner and see them after school. You're always welcome at our house, love. My parents love you."

She snorted, shooting him a sideways look. "Every time I come to your house I just end up spending time with you."

"Is that a bad thing?"

She laughed. "Not at all. Although I think your Mom wouldn't like me nearly as much if she knew what we were up to."

"My Mum has six children, Caroline, I think she knows exactly what we're up to. You're not exactly quiet, you know."

He smirked as he saw a blush make its way up Caroline's cheeks. It was rather endearing.

"Don't worry, I take it as a compliment," he added, smiling at the way she glared at him.

"I'll show you loud."

He raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She gave his hand a squeeze, and he squeezed it back almost automatically, before letting her drag him down a separate hallway where the single-stall bathrooms were. He smirked as she opened the bathroom door and pulled him in.

"As much as I'd love to make you scream in the middle of the hall–"

She interrupted him with a kiss, pressing herself against him, her back against the sink, her hands sneaking under his shirt to run across his chest, grinding her core against his hardening erection. She reached down to grasp him through his jeans and he groaned as she rubbed him, her fingers nimbly undoing his button and fly before grasping him in her hand, starting to stroke him.

"Caroline, we're at school," he said quietly, groaning as her lips touched his neck.

"I'm aware," she mumbled against him.

"Someone might hear."

"Only if you're loud," she said, and he could feel her smile against his neck. "Just be quiet and no one will know."

She rubbed her thumb over the head of his cock, spreading the precum across the tip of it, and he bucked into her hand, swearing under his breath, watching her kiss his neck in the mirror behind her. She let her other hand drag down the front of his chest.

"Caroline…" he warned.

He had no interest in coming on her hand in a school bathroom, because he knew some would get on his clothes, and it would be incredibly uncomfortable.

He said as much to her, but she just gave him an evil grin and pulled off her sweater, her t-shirt sticking to it and giving him an enticing view of her breasts if he looked below him or the creamy skin of her back in the mirror, before she pulled the t-shirt back down and dropped her sweater on the floor.

He was momentarily confused at what was going on before she was on her knees under the sink with her sweater bunched on the tile underneath her to cushion them, her lips wrapped around him, and he braced himself against the edge of the basin for support.

Well, that solved the coming on her hand problem, anyway.

He let out a loud groan as she sucked particularly hard before letting out a harsh breath as she let him go, stroking him with her hand. "Be quiet, Nik, remember?"

"Yes, fine, don't stop."

He heard her laugh quietly. "I don't know, I'm getting hungry."

"Caroline…"

"And you were in a hurry to see Marcel, Enzo, and Damon, weren't you?"

Did she honestly do this to get him to agree to sit with her friends? How was he supposed to look at his younger siblings knowing that the only reason he was there was because Caroline had bribed him with sex?

Although, it really didn't matter at this point.

"Caroline, love, I will sit wherever you want. Just keep going."

"Keep going with what?" she asked, and despite the fact that he couldn't see her face, he could hear the laughter in her voice.

"With your previous activities," he bit out, clutching the edge of the sink as he felt her hot breath on the tip of his cock.

"Tell me," she said, her lips brushing over the head of his length as she spoke.

He took a deep breath, trying to figure out why on earth he had to end up with a girlfriend that wanted him to talk dirty to her while she blew him in a public high school bathroom during lunch period.

Oh, right, because he loved her.

"I want you to suck my cock. Now."

She immediately took him back into her mouth, and he swore again as she sucked him, her fingers pumping the bottom of his shaft into her mouth.

"I'm going to come in your mouth, and you're going to swallow it."

She moaned around him, and he couldn't stop himself from thrusting into her mouth, making her gag a bit.

He bit his lip as he came in her mouth, trying not to groan too loudly, and heard her release him, giving the head of his cock a light lick and sliding out from under the sink, careful not to hit her head. She licked her lips, shoving her sweater into her backpack (he doubted she'd wear it again until she washed it at least three times).

"Ready to go to lunch?" she asked cheerfully, her hand on the doorknob.

**XXX**

"Oh, look who lost the 'who's-friend-group-we'll-sit-with-at-lunch' argument today," Kol said, grinning at his brother.

"It's not an argument," Klaus said tiredly. "It's her turn."

Rebekah rolled her eyes, popping another piece of potato in her mouth, mouthing 'whipped' at Stefan, who grinned. Klaus glared at them, sinking down next to his sister.

"So, it's her turn every time the name of the day ends in a 'y'?" Kol asked, smirking.

Klaus kicked his brother in the shin under the table, and Kol let out a yelp of pain and tossed the bucket of ketchup at Rebekah, who he apparently thought was the culprit.

"Kol!"

"Are you all right?" Klaus asked, restraining a smile at her tone.

Rebekah ignored him. "Kol! You ruined my jeans."

"What are you talking about?"

Rebekah glared at him and stood up, motioning to the front of her jeans, which were now stained in red, causing Kol to burst into laughter.

"It's not funny, Kol."

"Well, I didn't mean to get it all over that part of your pants, but I have to say that it does add a bit more drama to the whole thing."

"You're an absolute arse. These were designer jeans, and now they're ruined! And don't call me Little Sister. You're only three minutes older than me," she growled, clearly very close to losing her temper.

"Which means you're still younger."

"The point is it's your fault that I now have a giant red stain on my jeans, and you have to clean them or buy me new ones or something."

"That's ridiculous."

Klaus saw Caroline approach, and shot her a 'help me!' glance, nodding at a furious Rebekah. Caroline nodded in acknowledgment and tapped Rebekah on the shoulder.

"Can you scoot over, Bekah?" Caroline interrupted them, pushing Rebekah's tray slightly so that she could sit in between her and Klaus.

"Caroline, look at this. My new jeans are ruined," his sister said tearfully.

Klaus never failed to be impressed at how Caroline managed to magically grab her backpack out of thin air and how many random helpful items she managed to stuff into it. She unzipped it quickly, her hand already sifting through the contents. "I have a pad if you want one. And I can go to the nurse's office and get some hydrogen peroxide. Don't worry, I think they're still salvageable. When did you notice that you–"

Rebekah's eyes widened, and she looked mortified. "I'm not on my period, Care."

Kol burst into laughter, and Rebekah glared at him. "Kol, this is all your fault and it's not funny."

She realized that people were starting to stare. "Kol, stop!" she said, giving her brother a death glare from across the table. He didn't stop laughing, and Klaus knew his sister, which is what enabled him to dodge her to the side when she threw a tater tot at Kol, only just missing him with her elbow as she threw. Kol immediately retaliated with a soggy carrot, which hit Caroline in the face.

Klaus winced at Caroline's screech, and, like the good boyfriend he knew he should be, pushed his bowl of soggy carrots towards her for ammunition. Caroline grabbed one, squeezed it into mush in her hand, and threw it at Kol, hitting him in the nose. Kol brushed out his eyes, but by that time, Rebekah had loaded a piece of mystery-meat-that-claimed-to-be-beef casserole onto a spoon, also lobbing it at Kol, not noticing that Bonnie had come up behind him and leaned down to hug him from behind.

The beef hit her in the chest, dripping down her shirt.

Bonnie looked up at Rebekah, absolute rage shimmering in her eyes…

XXX

"No, I swear Principal Fell, it wasn't me. It was Bekah."

"Are you sure, Kol? Because it seems like everyone else is claiming otherwise."

"No. Principal Fell, I honestly didn't."

"Well, what's your version of events?"

Kol quickly explained his side of the story, which was rather dramatized and cast him as the innocent victim who accidentally knocked over a ketchup cup with his elbow.

Yeah. Right.

"...And that was that. So Bekah threw the first shot."

"That's not what happened," Rebekah said angrily, before turning to Principal Fell. "He's wrong, it was completely different. Ask any of them. I didn't start it. Kol threw ketchup at me on purpose."

Principal Fell ran a hand over his face, as though in pain.

"Can anyone verify one story or the other?"

Rebekah elbowed Stefan in the side, glaring at him, and he rolled his eyes, nodding and backing Rebekah up, his story identical to hers.

"Well, I would only punish Kol, but since you all joined in…"

"Not all of us joined in," Bonnie said irritably.

"I second that," Klaus mumbled from the end of the line.

"Oh please, Nik. You practically fed Caroline projectiles," Kol said, rolling his eyes.

Klaus just gave a wicked smile, and was clearly about to make some sort of innuendo out of Kol's statement when Caroline elbowed him in the ribs.

Principal Fell raised his eyebrows. "What does he mean by that?"

"He gave me his carrots to throw. I'm sorry principal Fell. It won't happen again."

Principal Fell gave Caroline an indulgent smile (she was a favorite among the staff).

"Can you give me your perspective, Caroline?"

"We were late, so we I didn't see the whole thing."

"Klaus?" Principal Fell prompted.

Klaus sighed dramatically. "Well…I would have to side with Rebekah, to be honest."

"But yeah, Kol hit me in the face with a carrot–" Caroline said, trying to get them back on track to the original question.

"By accident!"

"Still, you did, and Klaus pushed his vegetables to me because I'd eaten mine. I'm really sorry, though, Principal Fell. It won't happen again, I promise."

"I know, Caroline. I don't think you've ever broken any school rules before."

Klaus coughed again, causing Caroline to send him a filthy look. "Do you need some water?" she asked, her voice biting and sarcastic.

"No love, I've sated my thirst."

Caroline blushed, and she glared at Klaus, who simply smirked at her. Principal Fell appeared to be ignoring them.

"Well, regardless of who started it, you were still the first to participate. This would normally be cause for in-school suspension, or at least a few days of after-school detention, but as most of you haven't been sent here before," he said, shooting Kol a significant look, "We'll just say that the six of you have to clean up the cafeteria after school."

"That sounds fair," Caroline immediately said. "Thank you so much, Principal Fell."

"Of course, Caroline. Now, I apologize for pulling you out of classes, but I think you do have one period to go before the end of school. Mr. Saltzman will meet you all in the cafeteria after school, all right?"

"Yep, thank you," Caroline said again, standing up and brushing off her jeans.

They all filed out, but Klaus grabbed Caroline's hand to hold her back so that they could listen to Kol's conversation with Bonnie.

"Kol, be honest with me, did you throw it on purpose?"

Kol snorted. "Did you believe for a single second that I didn't?"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading. What do we think of Klaroline's master plan once they get out of school? Any predictions?  
Catch me on tumblr (thetourguidebarbie) or twitter (AngieWritesKC) if you'd like.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	10. Moving In and Out

**A/N: Posted in honor of day one of Klaroweek (the theme of which was "beginnings"). Shout out to Iron Dragon Maiden, who must have been reading my mind when she guessd Klaus's career path, though it'll be a bit different from her prediction. Still though, excellent guess ;)  
Unbeta'd, as usual.  
Enjoy!  
-Angie**

* * *

Klaus looked up, slightly alarmed as Caroline barreled through the door of his bedroom, a large, thick envelope clasped in her hand. "I got in!" she squealed, practically tackling him so that they fell on his bed. "Look!"

The envelope was shoved unceremoniously in his face, and he shifted under her to be better able to read it, smiling when he saw the school name stamped on the front of the packet.

"This is great, love. Harvard was your top choice, wasn't it?"

"Yep," she said, still completely unable to stop smiling. "It was. Oh my gosh, Nik, I'm so excited."

He kissed her softly, looping his fingers through her blonde curls, the other palm running over the small of her back under her t-shirt. "I'm so happy for you."

"Have you gotten any of your letters yet?" she asked, contentedly resting her head on his chest, flopping completely on top of him, her soft body pressed up against his front.

"Yes. I got into Tufts. Still waiting on Boston."

"That's great! We'll be right near each other."

He smiled slightly. "Yes. That we will, sweetheart."

"We only have three months until we're done with high school."

"I know."

"I know we're living on campus for the first year or two, but I can't wait. We'll have to start scheduling classes and–"

"I don't think I'm going to school," Klaus interrupted, his words blurring together.

From Caroline's face, he knew that she understood. "Excuse me?"

"I don't know if I'm going to go."

"Why?" she asked, looking completely shocked. "Nik, you got into your top choice. You have to go."

"I told you in the fall that I wasn't sure that I wanted to go to school, Caroline. I wasn't joking."

"But the distance–"

"Look, I talked to Elijah. He says I can stay with him, and I'll start looking for a job this summer. I'll find an apartment. It'll be fine."

"But Nik, your parents–"

"I'm an adult, they'll deal with it. They should be happy that they don't have to spend sixty thousand dollars a year on my education."

"But what will you do?"

"Caroline, not everyone who is successful goes to college."

"But it makes your chance of success higher," she pointed out.

He shrugged. "Maybe it does, but I don't think I'm ready, and it's better for me to take a gap year or two than to go and drop out because I'm not ready."

She bit her lip but nodded slowly. "Okay, so then what are we going to do?"

He fought down the smile at her use of 'we', and caught her lips with his. "I told you, love. I'll look for a job and start saving up for an apartment while you go be brilliant."

She laughed. "I don't know about brilliant."

"You are," he said, grinning as she rolled her eyes. "I love you, Caroline."

"I love you too, Nik," she said, dropping another kiss on his lips before snuggling into the crook of his neck.

"So, what do we have left to do before we start on this grand master plan of ours?"

He chuckled. "We graduate."

**XXX**

Summer passed in a blaze of heat, flip flops, swimming pools, and apartment hunting.

Klaus had moved in with Elijah and Gia almost immediately after graduation, and he and Caroline would drive to see each other often.

Caroline missed him being only a few blocks away, but the fact that Klaus was working to try to save up for an apartment was worth it. She'd gotten a summer job at the bookstore in Mystic Falls and was saving up carefully. She'd made a budget and was sticking to it.

The day came for her to pack up and drive to Harvard, and she had refused her mom's offer to help her unpack.

She picked up Klaus at the apartment, all of her boxes in her trunk, and they drove together to her new dorm room.

"I want the box with the red labels over there, and the one with the blue labels over there," Caroline said, pointing to their respective places. "And I'll unpack the books."

Klaus nodded tiredly, half the room already having been set up. Caroline had luckily managed to get a single room (which she was thankful for, since that meant she didn't have to convince her new roommate to go along with her "vision"), and she was almost bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Klaus helped her set up her bookshelf and decorations before he ran his hand through his hair and looked longingly at her minifridge, which was stocked with dorm-friendly food. "Is there anything else you want me to move, love?'

"I want you to move your ass onto my bed with me," she teased, flopping down on her mattress.

"Gladly."

She scooted over and snuggled into him once he laid down beside her. "How's the job going?"

"Really well, actually. Not that there's much room for advancement at the restaurant, but the tips are good."

She laughed. "I think that might have something to do with the accent."

"Not how handsome I am?" he asked, smirking.

"Maybe that too."

"You should come by sometime."

"Isn't me coming to distract you at work generally frowned upon?"

"You _are_ my favorite distraction."

"Exactly. You won't get paid if you don't do work."

"I suppose not," he said, adding a long-suffering sigh for good measure. "Speak of, love. I need to leave in about a quarter of an hour if I'm going to make it on time for my shift."

"No time to christen the room then?"

"Tomorrow?" he suggested.

"It's a date. Bring ice cream," she ordered, gesturing at her abdomen.

He made a face but nodded, pulling her to rest on top of him and kissing her softly. "I know you're nervous, but you'll do wonderfully, I'm sure."

She smiled at him. "Thanks."

He cupped her cheek and rested his other hand on the small of her back, capturing her lips with his again. He kept the kisses languid and soft, smirking at her small sigh as he pulled away to pepper kisses down her neck.

"You have to go," she mumbled, pulling away.

"I'm sorry, love. I can't wait to hear about your first day tomorrow."

She gave him a huge smile. "I can't wait to tell you about it."

She rolled off of him and walked him to the front door of the dorm, kissing him one last time.

It was the beginning of a new chapter of their lives, and she couldn't wait for more.

**XXX**

Klaus resisted the urge to groan as Genevieve bit her lip at him for what must have been the millionth time that week.

It was almost the end of Caroline's first school year, and he had moved out of Elijah and Gia's to his own apartment that winter. Caroline was hoping to get a job as a counselor that summer at a local theatre camp so that she could help pay rent when she moved in that summer. She was coming that afternoon at the end of his shift so that they could move her in for the summer.

Genevieve had been flirting with him non-stop since he's started working at the restaurant, and he hadn't told Caroline about it in the beginning because it hadn't been serious. However, as the girl got more and more aggressive, he'd vented to Caroline a few times about it. He doubted that she knew how annoying the other girl was actually being, as he tended to downplay it, though he didn't know why, since Caroline wasn't particularly the jealous type. Petty? Occasionally. A show-off? Most definitely. Jealous? Never.

He'd told Genevieve repeatedly that he had a girlfriend, and Genevieve had _seen _Caroline multiple times, but still seemed to think it was appropriate to hit on him all the time.

He managed to escape, giving the check to the family at table twelve and putting in an order for table ten before the manager asked him to help the delivery people that had just come unload some boxes in the back of the house.

Genevieve followed him, for no reason that he could discern, though she did signal that she was taking her break, and stood against the side of the building, watching him as he unloaded the boxes. "Why are you here?" he finally asked irritably as he set the last box on the shelf, checking his watch to see that it was five minutes before Caroline was to arrive, and wanting to get back to clock out.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About?" he asked, already with a very bad feeling of where this was going.

She sauntered toward him, and he huffed. "Genevieve, I have a girlf–"

She'd grabbed him and forced her lips onto his, and he was about to push her away when he heard a startled, "What the _fuck_?" from the doorway.

Genevieve pulled away, apparently pleased with herself, as Caroline marched up to them.

"Oh my god, are you _kidding _me?"

"Caroline, that wasn't–"

"Nik, be quiet," she snapped, turning to Genevieve, who raised a challenging eyebrow.

The fact that she'd used his given name was definitely a good sign, and when she brought out that tone of voice, he wasn't stupid enough to step in her way.

"How _dare _you? I mean, I knew you liked him, and obviously I get the appeal, but _seriously?_"

"It takes to two tango," Genevieve said, smirking.

"Yeah, unless you drag him around the dancefloor, you bitch."

"How do you know I was dragging him?" Genevieve asked irritably. "He was kissing back."

Before he could give the input that he _most certainly had not_ been kissing her back, Caroline snorted derisively (_very _bad sign for Genevieve, that). "No, he wasn't. _This _is what it looks like when he kisses someone back."

He resigned himself to being Caroline's prop for the moment as she proved her point–-not that he minded helping her prove said point–-his hands moving to softly grip her waist.

She pulled back but remained in his arms, and he was about to move away when she grabbed his hands to keep them where they were and glared at him, clearly non-verbally ordering him to stay put.

He obeyed, indulging her dramatics.

"Now, see, _this _is what it looks like when he kisses someone back. See? His hands are stroking my waist _lightly_, rather than moving through the air about to _push you the fuck away_. His eyes are either closed or looking into yours rather than open wide and alarmed," Caroline explained condescendingly before turning to Klaus. "Okay, you can let go now, Nik. I want to get all moved in before dinner."

He clocked out and changed, and Caroline tugged him down the street, her heels clicking on the pavement as she stomped towards her car. "That little bitch. I cannot believe her _nerve_. She practically assaulted you," Caroline muttered as she pulled out her keys, harshly hitting the unlock button.

"Er...Love, would you like me to drive?"

She turned slowly to glower at him.

"You get road rage, and you're already raging enough, I think."

She growled-_growled–-_and pressed the keys into his hand before stomping to the other side of the car and throwing herself into the passenger seat, muttering death threats.

He pulled on his seatbelt warily as he watched her rip open the glove compartment and pull out some chapstick.

They sat like that for a few minutes as he began to drive, him in silence while she stewed in the passenger seat, and he knew that asking what was wrong was probably not advisable in this situation, but he wasn't really sure what other path to take, so he settled for an, "is there anything I can do?"

"No, it wasn't your fault. I was just in a bad mood anyway, and she ruined everything."

"What happened?"

"I didn't get the job," she said, suddenly starting to cry, wiping her face. "I tried so hard, and I don't know why they wouldn't take me. I had all the right qualifications and my interview went really well…"

"Oh, sweetheart," he said softly, resisting the urge to pull over and instead driving the next minute to his-their-apartment, parking, and turning to look at her. "It's probably not anything to do with you. I'm sure they must have had other applicants who–"

"Were better than me," she said, sounding a bit frustrated.

"No, who might have been more experienced, or just older," Klaus said reasonably.

"I was just looking forward to it so much," she said, sniffling. "I don't know what I'm going to do this summer, Nik. I can't exactly sit around, and I think all of the deadlines for applying for most summer jobs has passed."

"Not really. I'm sure there will be lots of openings. You could always take some summer classes and transfer in the credits. It would be cheaper that way."

"I'd still have to pay for it."

He walked her up to the apartment, ignoring the presence of boxes in the back of her car and simply locking it behind them before the got to the stairs in the garage, and they walked in. She sunk down on the couch, still sniffling, and he sat next to her, pulling her to him.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Nik. I feel like everything's going wrong and everyone expects me to be this organized precocious _adult _and I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't want to disappoint anyone, but at the same time I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. And if I ask my mom for help that will just be her excuse to tell me that I should come back and live with her for the summer because I'm not ready to go out on my own," she vented tearfully, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I don't think people expect you to be perfect, Caroline."

"No, but they expect me to have a better handle on it than anyone else."

He sighed. "Look, love. It'll be fine, all right? I'll work this summer, you can do a summer class or get a job or whatever you feel like. Stefan's moving in with us, as you know, and then we'll only have to pay for two thirds of everything, and we can easily cover that."

She sniffled and nodded.

"What would make you feel better?"

"Dinner," she said decisively, making him chuckle.

"All right, what would you like?"

"For you to go get the boxes out of the car and bring them up while I see what poor excuses for food you have in your fridge."

He smiled slightly, getting up to go to the car, and within an hour there was a small cluster of boxes in the corner of their bedroom and they were sitting at the tiny table eating some grilled chicken and rice.

"This is good."

"I know. I made it," she joked, making him grin.

They left the dishes where they were (even Caroline's need to make sure everything was always clean didn't stop her from being exhausted from the day) and Caroline changed into one of his t-shirts while he started a movie in the living room.

They cuddled on the couch together, a blanket thrown over them. When the movie was over he made to get up, but she shook her head, pulling him closer and curling into him. "Can we just sit here for a few minutes? I'm tired."

"Of course, love."

They were both asleep within twenty minutes.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! This chapter spanned from the end of their senior year of high school to the first bit of summer after Caroline's freshman year of college. The plot's picking up again, and this will move very quickly through the different chapters of their life together. We're about 2/3 of the way through the story, and definitely in the home stretch. Did we like the moving in? Caroline's reaction to Genevieve? What do we think about Caroline's worries?**  
**Let me know! :D**  
**Hugs!**  
**-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	11. Proms and Paintings

**A/N: Happy day four of Klaroweek.  
Also, if you follow me on tumblr, part of this chapter is sort-of an apology for the drabble I posted earlier this week.  
Enjoy!**  
**-Angie**

* * *

"You have to go, Nik! This is such a big opportunity."

"I don't know, Caroline. What if I make a fool of myself?"

Caroline sighed and cuddled more deeply into Klaus's chest. "You won't make a fool of yourself. You got invited to give a showing. It's a big deal. You've had your paintings hanging in small-town cafes for the last year, and someone finally realized how awesome you are and you're going to throw it away?" she asked softly, squeezing his hand.

"No, I just...It's complicated, all right?"

She smiled slightly. "I know you're nervous, but it's a huge thing."

"Yes, Caroline. I'm aware that it's a rare opportunity. You've said that quite a few times."

She huffed. "I'm sorry. I just don't want you to regret not doing it."

He grunted, pulling her even closer to him.

"Plus," she added casually, "you wouldn't deny me the opportunity to wear a fancy dress, would you?"

He laughed quietly. "I suppose not. I'll call them tomorrow, all right, love?"

"Good."

The next few weeks were a blur of Klaus shutting himself up in his studio to paint so that he'd have options of what to display while Caroline worked on her summer class.

When the day finally arrived, Klaus came into their room to find Caroline carefully fixing her makeup, biting her lip in concentration.

"I love that dress," he said quietly.

She smiled at him in the mirror. "I know. I figured that it would be silly to buy a new one for the showing when I had a perfectly good dress already."

"You look beautiful."

She smiled at him brightly, and carefully put away her make-up.

"That was a great night," she said wistfully, remembering the other time she'd worn the dress.

"It was. I certainly enjoyed myself in following the time-honored traditions."

She snorted. "What, having sex on prom night?"

"I meant dancing," he said, his face the picture of innocence.

* * *

_Caroline shoved her phone into her mom's hand before smiling for the prom photos that they were taking before they left for the dance. _

_Liz did the obligatory fussing over Caroline's clothing and carefully snapped the pictures before shooing them off to leave so that she could go to the police station._

_Klaus tried to keep the eye-rolling to a minimum when Caroline dragged him to the dance floor, and they easily fell into a waltz before a different song came on and he simply pulled her to him, her arms slung around his shoulders as they swayed. "We're almost done. Can you believe it?" she asked._

_He smiled slightly. "I don't know. I have mixed feelings about it, to be honest. There are so many memories here."_

"_I know what you mean. Remember the Halloween dance?"_

"_Which one? Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Elsa, or the time when we decided not to go?"_

_She laughed. "All of them, I guess. They all had their good points."_

_He nodded. "I particularly liked the one we stayed home for."_

"_You would," she said, scoffing._

_He took her hand and led her off the dance floor, and they walked through the hallway, hand in hand. "Remember the time when you and Tatia were kissing near your locker and I put my backpack on too close to her and whacked her in the face?"_

"_Is this the part where you admit it wasn't accidental? Because I've known that since about a second after it occurred."_

"_You ruin the fun in everything."_

"_I don't know. I liked spilling paint all over Tyler Lockwood's backpack the next year. That was rather well-executed on my part, I thought."_

"_The messiest thing that ever happened was the food fight, though."_

"_I thought you cleaned up quite well for that one," he said smirking, and she whacked him lightly in the arm._

"_That's not what I meant."_

"_No, but it's what happened."_

_She scoffed, rolling her eyes and trying to suppress a smile._

"_Do I need to remind you?"_

"_As I recall, it would be me doing the reminding," Caroline said dryly._

"_I'm all right with that."_

"_Of course you are," she mumbled._

"_I'll make it up to you," he said huskily, pulling her to him, his breath hot on her ear, making her shiver._

"_Yeah?"_

_He bit her earlobe lightly and she moaned quietly, letting him lead her to the nearby school bathroom._

"_Are you serious right now?" she asked between kisses as he pressed her up against the door._

"_What, you don't want to relive the best moment of our high school experience?" he asked teasingly._

"_Best moment of your high school experience, if it's either, and if it was, I must give fantastic head," she said dryly._

"_No, I take it back, sweetheart. The best moment of my high school experience was the Miss Mystic Pageant."_

"_Don't be mean," she said, absolutely sure that he was joking._

"_I'm not. You looked so...alive. You were practically radiating light. I was happy that I was able to make you happy."_

_She kissed him softly, letting her hands run down his chest over his suit jacket. "You do make me happy," she said, before pulling away. "However, you do not make me happy enough to kneel on the bathroom floor in this dress."_

"_You wound me, love."_

"_We can head back to my place? My mom's working, so…"_

_He nodded, grinning. "Sounds wonderful."_

_They walked to his car in silence, hand-in-hand, and Klaus spoke abruptly. "Do you think we'll still be together this time next year? Do you think time will ruin this?"_

_She shook her head. "I think that no matter what happens, I'll always love you, and I'd like to think you feel the same way about me."_

"_Always," he agreed immediately._

"_I mean," she continued, "I'm not crazy enough to think that we have a one-hundred percent chance of success, but I think we're probably better off than most people."_

_He gave her a dimpled smile and opened the passenger-side door for her. When they arrived back at her house, he followed her up the stairs to her room and closed the door behind him, pulling her to him and kissing her deeply, his hands going to the zipper of her dress and tugging it down. She let it pool at her feet as she peeled off her gloves and turned to him, kissing him softly. "I'm going to go get my hair down. I used an obscene amount of bobby pins."_

"_Do you need help?"_

_She gave him a withering look, making him grin, and walked to the bathroom, carefully unpinning her hair and letting the blonde curls fall around her face before removing her make-up._

_She walked back to her room and smirked when she saw Klaus in just his boxers on her bed waiting for her, and she joined him, straddling him and bending to press a soft kiss to his lips. He buried his hand in her hair and held her to him by the small of her back, his hand then dipping down to cup her ass, his finger sliding under the string of her thong to pull the lace down her legs._

_He flipped them over, moving down her body to peel her thong off, throwing it on the floor as she unhooked her bra, freeing her breasts, her nipples pebbling as the air hit them._

_He pressed a few soft kisses to her abdomen before moving his lips down to her thighs, licking and nipping at the soft skin. She spread her legs wider for him, moaning and gripping the bed sheets, and he smiled as his mouth approached her wet pussy, his stubble scratching against her pleasurably._

_She shivered as he gave her a tentative lick, his tongue sweeping across her folds, and she let out a small gasp as he did it again before swirling his tongue around her clit. He moved his fingers to circle her entrance as he flicked his tongue over her clit, and she moaned loudly, swearing and panting his name._

_Her gasps and whimpers filled the room as she tried not to grind herself against his face. He slipped one finger into her pussy and then another, moving them inside her as he pleasured her with his mouth._

_They heard the door open below them and Klaus froze, making Caroline grit her teeth._

"_Don't you fucking dare stop."_

_He laughed quietly. "You're going to have to be quiet. I don't know if you can do that."_

"_Try me," she growled, rolling her hips pointedly._

_He smirked, but obligingly continued to thrust his fingers inside her, and she came less than a minute later, hissing his name through gritted teeth._

_He pulled away, and she smiled, her chest rising and falling rapidly, and she pulled him down for another kiss before flipping them over, kissing his jaw lightly before moving down to settle between his legs. She pulled his boxers off to grasp his erection in her hand, stroking him firmly and grinning at his answering groan, his head lolling back as he bucked into her hand._

_She swirled her tongue around the head of his cock and he swore, his hands twitching as he clearly restrained himself from tangling them in her hair._

_She gave the underside of his length a long, flat lick, wrapping her lips around the head and bobbing up and down, her cheeks hollowing as she sucked him._

_He bucked into her mouth and she gagged, pulling back to glare at him briefly, making him smirk. "Sorry, love."_

_She stroked him firmly with one hand, the other massaging his balls as she wrapped her lips around him again, and moaned around him as she looked up at him through her eyelashes._

"_Fuck, Caroline…"_

_She sucked him harder, her hand moving more quickly up and down his shaft as her cheeks hollowed, and he mumbled a warning before coming in her mouth._

_She swallowed, licking her lips lightly and laughing quietly when he pulled her up to rest against him._

_She spread herself out over him, her body draped across his with her face buried in his neck._

"_I love you, Nik," she said quietly, mumbling the words against his skin._

"_And I love you."_

* * *

He kissed her neck softly from behind and she moaned lightly before moving away. "Nik, we need to go."

"I know," he said sorrowfully, making her grin.

"Later, I promise."

She had foregone the gloves, obviously, but everything else was pretty much the same (though admittedly her hairstyle was a bit less elaborate). They drove to the gallery and Klaus parked the car before getting out and opening the door for her and they walked together to the entrance.

The next few hours were a whirlwind of pasted plastic smiles and trying not to drink champagne (neither of them would be any use to anyone drunk). Klaus answered lots of questions from people about his art, and he even had a few offers to buy pieces.

By the time they were walking back to the car, he had an extra spring in his step, and Caroline was beaming. "That was great."

"I can't believe this is taking off," he said, clearly still in a bit of shock.

"I'm really happy for you. And proud of you," Caroline said quietly as they buckled in and he pulled out.

The drive home was silent, both of them trying to come to terms with the fact that Klaus had _sold _quite a few of his paintings for a good amount of money (for a college student and a waiter, anyway), and when they got back to the apartment, they both shed their clothes and fell into bed, utterly exhausted.

"I think I might have to break my promise," Caroline mumbled sleepily, burrowing her face into his bare chest.

"Tomorrow morning is still technically later," he mumbled, making her smile into his skin.

**XXX**

"How'd it go?" Stefan asked the next morning at breakfast.

"Really well. He sold three pieces."

"That's great! Does that mean that you won't have to borrow money from your mom to pay for your class?"

Caroline froze, her spoonful of cheerios halfway to her mouth.

She and Klaus hadn't really talked about financing or where the money would go. As far as she was concerned, his money was _his _money, and she had no business telling him what to do with any of it. However, now that Stefan mentioned it, she realized that Klaus probably felt differently.

Whereas she usually thought of them as independent beings that fit together perfectly as a couple, he tended to lean towards the opinion that they were pretty much a single unit. What was his was hers, and what was hers was his, and that was just the way it was.

He would probably want to use the money on her classes, and she wasn't sure how comfortable she felt with that.

Actually, she knew exactly how she felt about it, and the answer was not at all comfortable.

"No. I think I'm going to keep applying for jobs and then pay her back with money I earn through the school year," she said, trying not to sound stiff.

Stefan nodded, seeming to realize that he'd hit a nerve, and turned back to his laptop where he'd been working on his novel.

Ugh. Writer types.

She had meant to wake Klaus up with a congratulatory sex marathon, but he was sound asleep and she hadn't had the heart to wake him up, so she'd decided to wait for Stefan to leave in the late morning, and if Klaus wasn't up by then, she'd wake him up.

They finished their breakfasts and Stefan departed, leaving Caroline to walk back to their room and fall back into bed with her boyfriend, who was still sound asleep. She reached over and shook him lightly and he opened his eyes blearily, turning over to face her.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Hey."

"What time is it?"

"Around ten."

He nodded, reaching out to pull her to him and burying his face in her hair, clearly about to drift off again. She sighed, resigning herself to being held for a bit (not that she minded) and snuggling into him, content to spend a lazy Sunday morning in bed with him.

**XXX**

"Are you sure you want to move back into the dorms, love?"

She bit her lip, stepping away from sorting her clothes and preparing herself for what she knew was going to be the latest in a long string of small arguments. "Yes. I told you, Nik. It'll be easier. I'll come stay here on weekends if that's all right, but I don't want to have to take transit to school every day from here, and I can't afford a car."

"We can afford another car, Caroline. We've talked about this."

"No, _you _can afford another car. I'm not taking your money."

"It's our money."

"No. I didn't paint those pieces, and I didn't sell them. I did not participate in the earning of said money, and I'm not going to let you spend it on me."

"How is living in the dorms cheaper than using a car and living with me?"

"Because I'm paying for it myself with student loans and financial aid, and my scholarships," she said irritably.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Caroline. It's just...why won't you let me help you?"

"Because I don't need your help," she snapped before she could stop herself.

When she turned and saw the struck look on his face, she covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Nik, I didn't mean it that way, you know that."

His lips were pressed together in a hard line, and she approached him, laying a hand tentatively on his shoulder. He didn't flinch away, but he didn't lean into her touch either. "I love you, Nik. You know that. But I don't want to feel like a burden. No, I _know _you don't think that, but I need to know that I can take care of myself. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to know that I can take care of myself before I let you take care of me. I don't want to feel smothered. I need to be independent and prove to myself that I'm capable."

"I know you can take care of yourself, Caroline. You're the most capable person I know. I don't know how I'd have gotten through half my life without you."

She smiled slightly. "I just need to prove it to myself, okay? And you need to let me do that."

"But you'll move in with me after this year?" he asked, his eyes hopeful.

She felt her heart splinter slightly. "I don't know, Nik. I want to, but I just want to make sure that I can afford it myself. I don't want a free ride, do you understand?"

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes, love. I would never dream of thinking that you couldn't handle yourself."

She smiled and kissed him softly, and he returned it, his hands settling on her waist. "Just promise me something," he said when he pulled back.

"Depends on the promise."

"If you do have a problem, you'll come to me about it. You don't have to let me help if you don't want to, but I need you to keep me in the loop. Please."

"Of course."

He returned her smile and kissed her again before letting go and looking around the half-packed room. "So, can I help you with anything, love?"

"I'm so glad you asked," she said teasingly, grabbing a pack of colored sharpies and thrusting them at him, ignoring his sudden look of dread as his gaze caught the markers. "The boxes all have a color. I need you to make sure that all the items are packed, and if they are, check them off using the color of the box they're in."

"This seems rather needlessly complicated," he muttered before catching sight of her unamused expression. "But, happy to help, sweetheart, of course."

"Damn right," she muttered before turning back to her closet.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Did we like prom? How do we feel about the direction Klaus's career is taking? Are we okay with the bits of sort-of realism I'm throwing in?**

**Also, I'd really quickly like to point out that this entire story is mostly fluffy cotton candy goodness. This is not at all an accurate representation of adulthood (at least, not in my experience). Klaus is exceptionally well-trained for a nineteen year old boy, and life doesn't usually work out this perfectly. **

**Hugs!  
-Angie**

Copyright 2015, Angelikah


	12. New Beginnings

**A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Fluff ahead.  
Enjoy!**  
**-Angie**

* * *

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

Caroline sniffled and nodded as Klaus pulled her against his chest, letting her cry into his shoulder.

Caroline wasn't an easy crier, but she'd just graduated magna cum laude from _fucking Harvard _and that was a big deal, okay?

Her mascara was running, and he gently disentangled himself from her and carefully eased the diploma out of her hand so that she wouldn't crush it before wrapping his arm around her. "Do you want to say goodbye to anyone?" he asked.

"No. The people I want to talk to are all going to still be here. We're having a party tomorrow."

He knew about the party, since she'd been organizing it for the past month, but she seemed to be in a state of shock, and he decided not to comment, instead holding the door open for her and then getting into the driver's seat.

"Do you want to go for lunch? To celebrate? We can do sushi."

"You hate sushi."

"But it's your favorite, and you just graduated. I'll just get teriyaki chicken."

She laughed through her tears, and he gave her a dimpled smile before pulling out of the parking lot, glad that they had left right away so the parking lot wasn't _too _clogged.

They stopped at the apartment first so that she could change, and then they went to get sushi (as promised).

She'd moved on from 'overwhelmed with tears' to 'bouncing off the walls with excitement', and he grinned as she almost missed her mouth, smearing some sauce on her cheek. He reached out and wiped it off with his thumb, sucking it off his finger, and returning casually to his food, suppressing the smirk at her suddenly darkened eyes.

He paid, insisting that it was her graduation lunch and he wouldn't let her pay for anything, making her roll her eyes. For once, she agreed (as she usually made him let her pay her half).

She'd been working part time at a preschool for the past two years, and she had double-majored in Child Development and English.

Her boss at the pre-school, a really nice woman named Jo, had gotten her an in with the principal of a local private school, and she had an interview the next week to work at the summer school (and if that went well, they'd hire her).

Though you needed a specific degree to work in the public school system, private schools didn't have those kinds of restrictions.

She was equal parts excited and nervous, and he was excited for her.

They made it home in the late afternoon, and he grabbed his sketchbook and sat at the kitchen table, trying to subtly side-eye Caroline while she typed away at her laptop while she pretended not to notice.

**XXX**

He was working on his painting for the next showing (he'd been incredibly lucky, and he was now reasonably well known among people who prided themselves on knowing 'up-and-coming' artists before they were 'mainstream'), and when he heard a crash, he set his paintbrush and jar of paint on the nearest flat surface before rushing into the kitchen where he saw Caroline swearing, bending to pick up the now-shattered bowl on the kitchen floor, wincing, and Klaus told her to stop while he went to grab the dustpan and brush, bending down to help her and rolling his eyes and smiling when she grabbed them from him with a glare.

She didn't like it when he cleaned things because she thought he was 'sloppy'.

He didn't know how she would live with him if they weren't _madly _in love, because he was the king of not giving a shit if he left his things everywhere, and she couldn't stand mess.

Luckily it was just about the only thing that she hated about his living habits, and he tried to remember to clean up after himself, and anyway, it wasn't like he left dirty dishes everywhere or his random items of clothing on the floor of the living room (living with Stefan had been a nightmare for her).

He decided to go to their bedroom and sketch for awhile, and he winced when he heard Caroline's shout from across the apartment.

"Nik, seriously?"

She stormed into their bedroom and gestured to the fabric of the skirt of her dress, which had a large streak of green paint on it. "You can't just leave your art stuff all over the house! It gets on things."

Oops.

"The jar wasn't even open, Caroline. I don't know how you manage to–"

"Because the paintbrush had paint on it, and I was walking through the kitchen and it fell on my dress."

He shrugged, setting his sketchbook down, resigned to finishing the conversation. "I'll try not to do it again, all right?"

And he'd just been thinking about how well he was doing at it, too.

She rested her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "I don't know how much that will help, since you have literally spent almost your entire life spilling art supplies on me."

"Maybe I like the way it looks on you."

"Well, I don't, so stop," she snapped. "My dress is _ruined_."

"Sorry, love."

She huffed. "I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to stop it. This is like, the fourth time this month you've spilled paint on me."

His lips twitched. "It wasn't me, love. You walked into the paintbrush. It was just sitting there minding it's own business."

She snorted, crossing her arms over her chest, and he smirked, walking over and putting his hands on her waist, squeezing her arse lightly, making her shiver, and leaning down to nuzzle her earlobe. "I rather like spilling on you, anyway."

She snorted derisively at his innuendo, though she tipped her head to the side to let him plant light kisses down her neck. "You can't make me stop being angry with sex, Nik."

"No, but I can try."

She hummed in agreement before pushing him away gently. "Not right now. It's nearly the end of the summer and I have lesson plans to work on."

"You have the rest of the summer for that," he said, pulling her back to him, resisting the urge to pout as she wriggled out of his arms.

"Which will make it all the sweeter when I finish," she said, smiling slightly and moving to the closet, unzipping her dress and leaving it to pool on the floor.

He let his eyes rove her body as she pulled a pair of shorts and a tank top out of the dresser, turning around and smirking at his gaze.

"Nik…"

"Caroline."

She laughed, pulling on her clothes before giving him a kiss on the cheek and reassuring him that she'd take a break soon.

'Soon' (as usual) turned out to be four hours later, and Klaus was absorbed in his sketching when he felt the dip of the mattress that signaled that Caroline was climbing into bed with him. He moved his arm up so that she could snuggle into him and peer at his sketchbook while he continued to draw on-handed, balancing it on his knee.

"You're not going to show that to anyone, right?" she asked suspiciously once she saw that it was her from behind, reaching for a shirt.

"Of course not."

He heard her yawn and smiled slightly, putting the sketchbook to the side and pulling her more closely against him.

He would be content to sit like this forever, really.

**XXX**

"How long have you guys been dating?"

Caroline huffed and rolled her eyes at Bonnie, who gave her an 'I'm just _saying_' sort-of stare before returning to her pie.

"Almost six years," Caroline acknowledged. "But I'm not in a rush. Nik's career is taking off, and I just started teaching. All it's going to do is stress me out."

"You guys are practically married anyway," Katherine pointed out.

"Which is why there's no need to rush it," Caroline said, deciding not to argue the point. "Besides, he'd need to get it together and ask, and I'm not going to push it or hint. If he wants to ask, he will."

"Why does _he_ need to ask?"

Caroline and Katherine rolled their eyes in tandem. "Because I don't have a romantic bone in my body, and he has twice as many as any normal male. His proposal would be _lightyears _better than any I could come up with."

"True," Bonnie acknowledged.

"Like, as long as he doesn't ask me in public, I'm looking forward to whatever he comes up with. _Anyway_, tell me about the new guy you're seeing, Bon."

"Nothing to tell, really. We're doing fine. I like him."

"Nothing to tell always means that it's boring. You don't do well with boring," Caroline said.

"He's not _boring_. We just don't share all that many common interests."

"So...he's boring," Katherine translated. "You know who's not boring?"

"My asshole ex-boyfriend that you've been on a crusade to push me back together with for the past four years?" Bonnie said, her voice as falsely cheerful as possible.

"Yep."

"Look, that didn't work out well. I wasn't happy, and he wasn't happy. I don't want to put myself through that again."

"I totally respect your wrong opinion," Katherine started, making Bonnie and Caroline groan. "However, Kol's grown up _a lot_ since you last talked to him, and as I recall the problem was that he was too immature for you."

"Anyone that makes dick jokes out of half the things I say is too immature for me."

"You make dick jokes all the time," Caroline pointed out.

"Yeah, but they're _good _dick jokes," Bonnie said, clearly fighting down a smile.

"I think that if Bonnie doesn't want to date him, we shouldn't pressure her," Caroline said firmly.

"_Thank _you. And, anyway, isn't he dating that other girl now? Even if I was single, which I'll remind you, _I'm not_, he's clearly over me."

"Oh, they broke up," Katherine said airily.

"He didn't tell me that," Caroline said, a bit hurt.

"It just happened two days ago. The only reason I know is because Kol called me to ask if he could ask for a paternity test when she didn't have any other known partners."

"That sounds like something you can Google."

"We're waiting on the results."

"Why are you pushing me towards him when he might have a _baby_?"

"Because it's not his," Katherine said bluntly. "TMI, and don't tell him I told you this, but he had a vasectomy a few months ago because of some health problem. I didn't pry too much about it—shut up, Caroline, I honestly didn't—but I doubt they'd had sex more than once before it happened, since they got together just around then."

"It only takes one time," Bonnie said.

"That's what she said, but Kol said he used a condom."

"How do you even know all of this?" Bonnie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Well, as I said, he wanted to ask me about it. You should think about it."

Caroline swore as her phone's alarm went off and pulled out her wallet, pushing some cash into Katherine's hand for her lunch. "I have to go. Nik and I are having a movie night."

"I'd better head out too," Bonnie said immediately, clearly not wanting to get stuck alone with Katherine.

"Fine, just leave me here...all alone…"

"Bye, Katherine."

**XXX**

Caroline was exhausted.

Klaus knew this because he came home at four in the afternoon and saw her face planted on their bed, fully clothed and completely asleep.

It was the end of her first year of teaching, and he was looking forward to the summer. Being self-employed gave him a lot of free time, and Caroline didn't have much, so he savored their time together. Sighing, he wrote her a note saying he was out to run some errands and he'd come home soon, and turning right back around to head out the door, driving to Katherine's apartment, inwardly praying that he was doing the right thing.

She opened the door after the first round of knocking, and raised scowled. "What are you doing here?"

"I need your help."

"With?" she asked hesitantly.

"Depends, can you keep your mouth shut?"

"Is it about Caroline?"

"Since I make a concerted effort to not speak to you unless Caroline forces me to, you should always assume that it's about Caroline."

Katherine stood aside and he walked in, taking a seat on the couch.

"Oh yes, please, make yourself right at home."  
"Has Caroline told you anything about what she wants for proposals or weddings?" he asked, getting straight to business.

"No. She said she'd like whatever you do as long as it's not in public."

Well he'd _known _that.

"Nothing about rings? Or places she likes?"

"You've known her longer than anyone else. You probably know her best out of all of us."

"Yes, but she doesn't talk to me about things like this."

Katherine sighed. "Look, she hasn't told me anything, and to my knowledge she hasn't said anything to Bonnie either. Just follow your heart or whatever."

"That might be the least helpful advice I have ever gotten."

"Sorry not sorry. Was that all?"

"Yes," he said reproachfully.

"Good. Door's that way."

Klaus repressed the urge to stick his tongue out at her and left.

He went to the library so that the search wouldn't come up on his internet history and ordered a custom engagement ring after playing around with the options for awhile. He was nervous.

If he was honest with himself, he knew she'd say yes. It wasn't about whether she'd agree; it was about whether she'd like the proposal.

On its face, it seemed like a silly thing to worry about.

He knew that Caroline loved it when he put thought into things. She wasn't very impressed by flashy gestures (he'd learned that by paying attention to offhand comments she made about proposals in movies), and she appreciated it when he listened to little things.

**XXX**

"Why are there plastic sheets all over everything?"

"Hello to you, too, love. Sorry, I was experimenting with some splatter-paint."

She stood next to him and looked down at the canvas. "Pretty."

"Thank you."

"Let me go change before you get paint all over me," she said, kissing him on the cheek and humming as she walked into their room, carefully side-stepping the paint puddles on the floor.

She came back in one of his old t-shirts and sleep shorts, settling herself on the couch, the plastic squeaking as she moved, and peering over it. "Well, don't let me interrupt. Keep going."

It took less than a minute to notice that her eyes were fixed on his arms flexing as he carefully aimed the paint, and he finally turned to her, grinning. "Would you like to me to take my shirt off so that you can more easily observe?" he teased.

"I wouldn't say no."

He laughed and returned to throwing paint.

"Hey, I was promised shirtless painting. You can't just leave me hanging like this, Nik."

He snorted and moved the paintbrush so that paint splattered all over her shirt.

"Nik!"

"Oops," he said unrepentantly.

She narrowed her eyes. "You don't want to start this."

He just shrugged, turning back to the canvas, and he heard her move off the couch and walk towards him, grabbing the paintbrush out of his hand and dipping it in red paint, splattering it over him.

Needless to say, the paint fight escalated quickly. Soon they were both covered in streaks of paint, and Caroline winced as she looked down at herself. "Is this safe?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have thrown it at you if it wasn't."

"You totally planned this."

"I do like painting you. It's one of my favorite hobbies."

She snorted, grabbing one of the towels he used to wipe off his hands and moving it over her hand. He watched her do so before her eye caught the small cardboard box that had been resting under it.

He might have done that on purpose too.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" he asked, a smile in his voice, trying to sound innocent.

She gave him an exasperated look and he nodded that she could open it. "Seriously?" she asked, lifting the paint sponge out of it. "Why do you keep this in a bo—"

He grinned as she saw what had been _under _the sponge.

"You are such a sap."

"You love it," he said confidently, walking over and snatching the ring out of her hand.

"Hey, that's mine," she said, laughing.

"Not until you say yes," he teased.

"Yeah. It's mine. Give it over."

He snorted, sliding it onto her finger, and she smiled at it before sliding it off and setting it back in the box, closing the lid. "I don't want it to get paint all over it," she explained, before pulling him into a deep kiss by the front of his t-shirt, tugging on his lower lip with her teeth and pulling him to the ground with her.

She tugged her shirt off and wriggled out of her shorts before pulling his clothes off as well and straddling him, his hands moving to cup her cheeks and then move down her body.

She bent to the side, her thigh rubbing against his rapidly hardening cock, and pulled a jar of paint towards her, spilling it on the floor and reaching down to smear it over her hands.

He frowned, about to ask her what she was doing, and she pressed her hands lightly against his shoulders, forming two perfect green handprints, her hair falling around her as she kissed him again, her lips moving slowly against his. He flipped them over, gripping her hips in his hands and nibbling at her neck, but she moved to grasp the paint jar in her hands, holding it out to him.

"Paint me."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading! I'm sort-of uncomfortable with the way the proposal turned out, so I'd love to hear what you thought!  
We're very much in the home stretch with this story, so I hope you enjoy the remaining chapters.  
Hugs!  
-Angie**


	13. Family Portrait

**A/N: This is the last chapter. I know that it jumps quickly through time, but this story was meant to be a collection of short pieces. **  
**Enjoy!**  
**-Angie**

* * *

"Caroline, I honestly don't care."

Caroline couldn't recall the last time she'd honestly wanted to scream at her fiancé. In fact, this could be the first time.

"Okay, sit," she said stiffly, pointing to the couch.

Klaus gave her a reproachful look, which quickly turned to slight nervousness when he saw her face, and he obediently put his art supplies down and sat.

"I love you very, _very _much. This wedding is just as much about you as it is about me. I know that I've spent my entire life planning things, but it really hurts my feelings when you say you don't care about literally any part of this. I know you're trying to be nice and not get in my way, but I want you to like this wedding just as much as I do."

Klaus knew better than to tell her she was overreacting, so he settled for, "But what if I truly don't have an opinion?"

"When I ask you for your opinion, unless I say I'm strongly leaning towards one or the other, it's usually because I can't decide. Telling me you don't care does not help me decide. If I ask your opinion, I want you to make a choice. You've known me for almost my entire life. You know that I don't do that thing where I passive-aggressively ask you which thing you like better even though I've already made up my mind. If I'm asking you, just pick one. I don't care if you don't care. Okay?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wasn't trying to make you feel like I don't care about the wedding."

"I know. It's just a lot of things to get through. If I give you a list of things to do, could you take care of them please? My kids are about to turn in their essays—I don't know what I was thinking assigning them to be due on Friday—and I'm really, _really _stressed."

"Of course."

She sank down next to him on the couch and laid her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"I know it's been a stressful few weeks, love. I'm sorry. I should have a lot more free time starting next week as well."

"Oh, shit, the gallery. I forgot."

"It's all right. You haven't missed a single one in the last five years. I don't mind if you don't come."

"I am so sorry. I made an appointment with the woman who's making my dress…"

"Really. It's fine. Do you want to make me a list of the things you want me to do? If you don't tell anyone, I can even help you grade the essays."

"I'll do it tomorrow. And as tempting as it sounds for you to help me grade, your handwriting is a million times better than mine, and everyone will notice. Plus, I have a feeling that you'd be a much harder grader."

He laughed. "Probably."

"Have you talked to your mom yet?"

"Honestly, I think you might have a better chance at convincing her, love."

Caroline snorted. "I don't think so. I'll just look like I hate your cousins."

"You do hate my cousins."

"I don't _hate _them. I just…"

"Hate them. Don't worry, I hate them too."

She laughed quietly. "Freya's nice, she's just—"

"You don't have to lie. She's a gold-digging cunt who yells at wait staff and swears at small children."

"Dahlia's okay, though."

"You've also only met her once, and she's about ten years older than us."

Caroline shrugged. "I just don't want to argue with your mom about it."

"Just put your foot down. It's our wedding, and you'll do what you want."

Caroline snorted. "If only it were that simple, though I do appreciate your use of 'our'. Very smooth recovery, Mikaelson."

"I do occasionally listen, Mikaelson-to-be."

She laughed. "I guess you do."

**XXX**

"I just don't understand what's so hard about it," Caroline snapped, rubbing her hands over her face.

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be better about it, all right?"

"I don't want you to _try, _Nik. I want you to do it. Do you know how it makes me feel to walk into our apartment after I have spent all day being in a classroom on my feet and seeing this mess? I don't want to clean when I get home. You are here literally all day. You have time to clean up after yourself. Why don't you do it?"

"I just forgot," he said lamely, and she ran a hand through her hair distractedly, kicking off her shoes and picking them up to put them in the bedroom closet.

"Well, what do you need me to do? Write a checklist and tape it to the fridge? You're an adult, Nik," she said over her shoulder, and he winced, following her.

"Caroline, I'm sorry, all right? It just never occurred to me that you were this upset about it."

"I wouldn't be upset if you'd listened to me the first hundred times I told you to put your dishes in the sink hang your towels up."

"You didn't used to mind."

"I also didn't used to _work _all day."

"Are you saying I don't do work?"

"Don't twist my words, Nik."

"I thought you didn't mind, all right? I'm sorry, sweetheart."

He didn't know how many times he'd apologized in the last ten minutes, but he was getting frustrated with her. He didn't _mean _to upset her. It wasn't like he went out of his way to not pick up after himself.

"There are some things I don't mind. The paint I don't care about as long as it doesn't get all over my work clothes, and I don't mind when you have pencils all over the place or you leave your sketchbooks everywhere. It's really just putting the milk back in the fridge when you're done, and making sure that I don't trip over your clothes when I'm walking into our bedroom."

She suddenly sounded so tired and fed up, and he didn't really know how to respond. "I'm sorry," he said again, his voice soft, and then she started sniffling, and he felt like he was in over his head.

He didn't do well with Caroline crying. He never had. Crying women were terrifying, and a crying Caroline was both terrifying and confusing, especially when he had no idea what he'd done to make her cry.

He walked towards her and pulled her into his arms, murmuring apologies and rocking her back and forth, and she just sobbed into his shoulder.

"I just want you to listen to me," she hiccupped. "I feel like every time you don't it makes me nervous. I'm just really stressed. I'm sor—"

"Don't apologize, sweetheart. It is completely my fault. I should have realized that you really cared about it."

She nodded against his shirt, and he thought he heard a mumbled 'thank you' before she pulled away, wiping her eyes, which were red.

"Do you think that you're nervous about the wedding?" he asked hesitantly. "I know it doesn't really change anything between us, but it's definitely symbolic."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I'm definitely nervous about it, but I don't think this has much to do with it."

"Perhaps not. In any case, I will try—I will _be _better about listening. All right?"

She nodded and hugged him again, and he rubbed her back, burying his nose in her hair and just enjoying the feel of her in his arms.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," she responded, her words muffled by his shirt, though he could feel a smile slowly spread across her face. "Especially when you do what I tell you to do."

"Duly noted."

**XXX**

It wasn't that Caroline didn't trust Rebekah to make sure everything ran smoothly, it was that she fucking hated not knowing whether her trust was misplaced or not.

She was _sure _she heard Rebekah arguing with the catering person, and it took all of her willpower to not march out in her dress and show the caterer who was boss.

In case it was unclear to anyone, Caroline was the boss.

Instead, she stared determinedly at herself in the mirror and took deep, calming breaths. Everything was going to be okay. Nothing would get fucked up. Their wedding would be fine. Breathe.

She made sure to wait until the last minute to put on mascara, and when she walked down the aisle, she had to keep from laughing at the look on Klaus's face.

He really was a sap. It was kind of adorable.

Klaus had a huge family, half of which had kids under the age of eight, and so she'd purposefully made sure that the actual ceremony would be as short as possible.

They kissed, were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Mikaelson, walked back down the aisle together, and when they got to the private dressing room she'd used, she immediately threw her bouquet to the side and lifted her hair so that he could unzip her dress.

"This isn't quite the place, love."

"I have a second dress for dancing that won't trail on the ground of that grubby reception hall. Haven't you learned not to question me yet?" she teased.

"I guess I probably should."

"That would get really boring, though."

"I agree."

She shot him a mock glare and wriggled into her reception dress. She'd originally budgeted about two hundred dollars for one dress, but Elena owned a dress shop, and Katherine convinced her to do a custom gown for Caroline in exchange for cleaning out and organizing her garage. That meant that Caroline had enough left over to buy a pretty white party dress for dancing.

She knew Klaus's relatives (and possibly some of her own) would be scandalized, but as Klaus had said, it was their wedding, and she'd do what she wanted.

They also didn't have an open bar (because Mikael's alcoholism was not something they wanted to deal with), and they were hoping that would prevent inter-family drama.

There was some polite clapping and congratulations at the reception, they had their first dance, Caroline survived the most awkward groom's-father-and-the-bride dance of all time, and they had planned an escape with a few friends to have ice cream at a nearby shop.

The men shed their suit jackets and ties and left them in the trunk of Stefan's SUV, and they all gathered around a huge table, splitting sundaes.

"So," Kol started casually, pausing to lick the caramel off his spoon, "trying for kids yet?"

Caroline choked on the peanut she'd just popped in her mouth, and Klaus glared at Kol as he eyed his wife—_wife_—to make sure she didn't choke before rubbing her back as she glared at his brother. "We've only been married for about six hours, Kol."

"But you will be, won't you?"

"Kol, stop it," Bonnie hissed, hitting him in the arm.

"Sorry, darling," he said, backing down immediately.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and gave Caroline a 'sorry-I-don't-have-a-mute-button-for-him' look, and Caroline just shrugged.

"Probably not very soon," she said, giving Klaus a quick look, and he nodded in confirmation.

"Maybe in a year or two," he added.

**XXX**

"Hey, can I talk to you?"

Klaus turned slowly, eyebrow raised. "The last time you asked me that you rode me on my basement floor, so based on my previous experiences, yes. Please do."

She rolled her eyes. "I think I'm pregnant."

She fought the urge to laugh when he nearly dropped his paintbrush and quickly put it down on the table next to him. "Really?"

"Yep. Don't get all excited though, since I don't know for sure. I was going to go buy a few tests right now, but I just wanted to tell you beforehand so you wouldn't think I was keeping secrets."

"Give me a moment and I'll drive you."

She snorted. "Yeah. Nice try. I'll be back in a bit."

"You get road rage. Stress isn't good for the baby."

"We don't know that we have a baby yet. If there is something growing in me, it's about the size of a sesame seed and doesn't know what stress is yet."

"Well, it shouldn't have to find out."

"I swear to god, Nik, if you get paint all over my car I will kill you. Wash your hands and I'll be back in like, fifteen minutes."

Half an hour later, they stared at the stick in Caroline's hand.

The plus sign stared back.

**XXX**

"Why can't I stop eating?" Caroline whined as she leaned back in bed.

"Because you're pregnant," Klaus said dryly.

"That was rhetorical."

"Sorry, love."

"It's fine. At least school's over soon, and then I can be home for a bit."

"You could always take next year off," Klaus said hesitantly.

She let out a harsh breath. "I've been thinking about it to be honest."

They'd had the discussion before a few times, and it always ended with Caroline saying that she could handle it, although the closer she was getting to _having _the baby, the more she saw his point.

"Have you?"

"I mean, we can afford it if we budget right, and it would be nice to have the rest, even though you work from home."

He nodded, and she snuggled closer to him. "I don't know. I'll think about it more."

"All right, love."

"Have you thought more about names?"

"A bit."

"And?"

"I don't know whether you'll like them."

"You'll never know if you don't tell me."

"They're not very traditional."

She shrugged, letting her eyelids flutter shut. "As long as they have relatively normal first names, their middle names shouldn't matter."

"Noted."

She hummed in agreement and poked his side, making him wince. "So?"

"Leonard and Kalig, I suppose. If you want one traditional and one not."

"I like Aaron," she said, yawning.

"That wasn't one of my choices."

"It is now. I like both of yours, though. Maybe Kalig for a middle name?"

"I like it. We can save Leonard for the next one."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said, smiling.

"I suppose not."

**XXX**

"He's beautiful."

"Thank you," Caroline said tiredly, taking Aaron back into her arms from Esther.

"You two did well."

"Oh yes, we completely planned the exact combination of genetics he'd—_Ouch_."

Caroline just threw Klaus a filthy look. "You deserved it," she mumbled, smiling down at their son, who was dressed in a onesie, peacefully peering up at them.

They'd managed to fend off the entire extended family for two weeks, three days, and four hours (not that he was counting or anything), but eventually they were trapped into having dinner with his whole family.

Aaron was fussy because of all the people, and he could tell that Caroline was _this _close to using it as an excuse to bust the hell out of there.

And frankly, he didn't blame her one bit.

"May I hold him?"

Caroline nodded, handing her son to Rebekah and watching her like a hawk.

**XXX**

Caroline moaned as Klaus's tongue swirled around her clit, and she threw her head back, her chest heaving, gripping the sheets.

"Yes, just like that, oh my god…"

They both froze when the front door slammed and Caroline swore, moving slowly out of bed and pulling on her discarded sundress, while Klaus frantically pulled on his jeans.

"Mom! Dad! Aunt Kat dropped me off 'cause she had a surprise meeting. Are you here?" Aaron called from the living room.

"Yeah, sweetie. Give me a few minutes. I'll be right there. Can you please empty your lunchbox and wipe it out with a paper towel?" she shouted before turning to Klaus and whispering, "Are you _sure _you want another one, Nik?"

"Little late to change our minds, sweetheart," he pointed out, gesturing to her baby bump.

"True. Can you go? I'll be right there."

He nodded, pulling on a t-shirt and leaving the bedroom. She heard the kitchen sink running a moment later, and sighed as she finished dressing, washing her hands in the bathroom and moving out to see Aaron eating carrots at the table while Klaus made his son a sandwich.

"How was your day?"

"It was good."

"Learn anything fun?"

At five years old, Aaron certainly had an impressive scowl for his age.

"No offense mom, but school's not fun."

She heard Klaus suppress a snort of laughter from behind her.

**XXX**

Caroline walked through the front door of the house the night before Aaron's sixth birthday, trying not to make too much noise. She'd been at a mandatory teacher's conference in Virginia for the weekend, and Klaus had called her about five minutes after her flight had landed in Richmond to tell her that he and both boys were sick. She'd told him to go to the doctor and tell her if she needed to come back home, and he'd called her back to tell her that they were all fine. Nonetheless, she wasn't looking forward to all of them being in a mood when she returned.

She'd been expecting to find a noisy room full of tissues, crusty bowls of leftover macaroni and cheese, and teabags, but the house was completely silent. She walked down the hall and peered into her and Klaus's bedroom, smiling slightly at what she saw.

Klaus was on his back on the bed, their television screen flickering with the volume on low playing Sesame Street recordings while Aaron was asleep half on top of him, and Leo was in his crib, also fast asleep. She pulled on pajamas in their bathroom and brushed her teeth before coming back to the bedroom and picking Aaron up, trying not to wake him. Klaus cracked open an eye and she held a finger to her lips before shifting her son in her arms and starting to bring him to his room.

Aaron stirred, sniffling and coughing into her old t-shirt. "Mommy. I don't feel good."

"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry."

"I'm tired."

_Well, thank the lord for small favors._

"Well, why don't you go to bed, then. Do you need a story?"

"No. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said, tucking him in and kissing him lightly on the forehead before returning to her bedroom.

She checked into the crib to see that Leo was still asleep before she heard Klaus's voice from behind her, cracked from coughing. "I can move to the couch, sweetheart. I don't want you to catch it."

"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch when you're sick, and even if I could stomach doing that, I've missed you."

"I'm sick, love."

"And I don't care," Caroline said cheerfully, keeping her voice a low whisper and climbing into bed next to him.

"Tomorrow I'll call in sick and stay home, okay? My kids are all at the point where they're just studying for their finals anyway."

"If that's what you want to do."

"As if you could stop me," she said, snuggling into him.

He hummed in agreement.

"I love you."

He muttered something that sounded vaguely like 'I love you too' and a few seconds later she could tell that he'd drifted off.

She snuggled into her pillow, smiling as Klaus pressed himself against her in his sleep, snoring softly. Leo began to fuss, and she gently disentangled herself from her husband, hoping to take care of her son without waking Klaus.

She picked Leo up, resting his head on her shoulder, and moved to what was technically the nursery (though Klaus had clearly moved the crib into the bedroom for the weekend so he could easily keep an eye on both boys at once).

She sat in the rocking chair, making comforting noises and trying to get him to quiet, and couldn't help but smile at the crinkled corner of paper that stuck out of the cardboard box on the top shelf of the closet where they kept extra blankets.

Feeling nostalgic, she reached up and easily pulled the box out of the closet, setting it on the small side table and opening it.

It was filled with random bits of their memories. On top was a copy of their wedding invitation, and below that were plastic bags filled with other small representations of their journey together. Both the boys' baby bracelets were there, as well as pictures of them in the delivery room. There was the brush he'd used to fling paint at her when he'd (sort-of) proposed, still crusted over with red streaks. A set of pictures paper-clipped together from her college graduation, their high school graduation, and various parties they'd attended. Her corsage from prom. A picture of them when she won Miss Mystic Falls. A sketch of her that only _they _knew was from when she'd confessed her feelings to him in his basement.

There were a few candid photos from when they were younger, which she took out carefully and set aside, careful to keep Leo comfortable over her shoulder.

It was the two pieces of paper at the bottom that always made her smile, and, to be honest, her artistic ability really hadn't improved much since she'd drawn hers (though Klaus's had obviously grown exponentially).

Hers was a drawing in crayon of two stick figures. One had a pink body with blonde hair, the other a green body with tan hair.

The second was a piece of construction paper covered in smears of paint, with a Klaus-aged-four-sized handprint on it.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading!  
I hope you all enjoyed the ending. Please tell me what you thought of it (and the fic in general) in the review box below. It's the only way I'll know what you liked and what you didn't like.  
I know that these last few chapters went up very, _very _quickly, but the closer I get to finishing a story, the faster I write (usually). **

**You can catch me on tumblr on thetourguidebarbie and on twitter at AngieWritesKC.  
**

**Hugs!  
-Angie**


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